Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix
by oldblueeyes
Summary: Three months are the conclusion of Heroes - Rebirth from the ashes Gabriel and Claire are trying to figure out their relationship. Peter is trying to find a new purpose. Angela is up to her old tricks. And the world awakens to a power that threatens to consume them all.
1. Chapter 1

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix  
EPILOGUE - THREE MONTHS AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF REBIRTH FROM THE ASHES  
Chapter One - Family  
**

Angela Petrelli walked through the hallway from her master suite toward the kitchen chambers of her son's new home; the place was beautiful inside and out. The mansion was only a few doors down from their old home in upstate New York. She had been enjoying the last few months reconnecting with some of her old friends and trying to construct a boring "normal" life. She felt alive again, in her expensive silks and name brand cloths. She was enjoying being the bell of the ball and having no responsibilities. She smiled at the house maid sisters Emily and Esther as they put the finishing touches on a large Christmas tree in the grand hall, "Ladies, how beautiful!" Angela proclaimed as she took in the sight. "Thank you ma'am." Emily replied. "Enjoy your time at Christmas Dinner at the Bennet's this evening." Esther offered in a voice almost identical to her sisters.

"Thank you ladies." Angela said with a lift to her voice while she handed each of the women a large envelope with a bow attached. "I understand you have a Grandmother you girls have never met."

"Yes, Mrs. Petelli we have not been able to see her since our father died over a year ago. She lives in Norway." Emily agreed.

Esther chirped up to remind her sister, "We need to call her and wish her a Merry Christmas."

Angela indicated the envelopes she had handed the girls, "Maybe you can do more than call this year if you hurry." than she walked away along the main hallway and entered into the kitchen chamber enjoying the squeals of delight behind her by the Christmas tree.

"Good Morning Alfred. Good Morning Greta. Isn't its beautiful day?"

"Good Morning Mrs. Petrelli," Alfred replied in his most dignified manor. "I trust you slept well." Alfred finished drying the crystal glass in his hands and placed it on the counter beside a fork and knife setup on the large central kitchen island, and filled it with cool orange juice fresh squeezed that morning. "It was a wonderful rest, thank you. And I had the most delightful dream." Angela sat down on a stool next to the island counter top and smiled warmly as Greta stepped away from the stove and placed a plate before her, with a warm fresh baked muffin and a poached egg."Thank you Greta. Have you heard from your husband recently?." She said as she looked at her muffin playfully and took a bite. "Not since early this morning ma'am. By the way Alfred we need to add eggs to the sopping list." Alfred replied a little frustrated. "That man will eat us out of house and home."

Greta grinned widely, "Yes, isn't it wonderful!"

Angela placed two large envelopes on the kitchen island, each with a large white bow attached and slid them toward Greta, "Maybe you two can spend some special time together, Merry Christmas!" Greta gave Angela a big hug as she opened the envelopes and saw what was inside.

"I must go find my Husband! He will want to thank you too!' Greta exclaimed as she turned off the stove and rushed out of the kitchen.

"Alfred I did not realize how late it was. We do not have much time." Angela said as she looked up at the clock on the wall. It was already half passed seven in the morning. "We have shopping to do, errands complete and a girl to meet. she is so lovely, tall and thin. Her hair is such a beautiful shade of golden red." Angela's heart flooded with joy deep inside. She liked being one step ahead of everyone else as she watched Alfred face darken with confusion. "Oh, and her eyes are an incredible deep ocean of greenish blue. You will love her once you meet her." Alfred collected the plate from Angela's breakfast and began to wash it by hand in the sink. "Someday it would be nice to meet her Mrs. Petrelli, she sounds enrapturing. How did you meet this woman, was she at the Christmas ball last evening?"

Alfred spoke half wondering if he would receive an envelope. maybe he could take some time off and go back to the Island estate and try to find the remains of his Wife and sons graves. He decided he would purchase new headstones and bring flowers.

"I have not had the pleasure of meeting her face to face yet, but I dreamed a lovely dream last night. She is all alone. An orphan. She has been living in Texas while going to college. She is studying to become a nurse." The two of them heard from down the hallway the front door bell ring of the house. "In fact, that should be her now. And my friend," Angela beamed as she rested a hand on his arm, "She is your only surviving relative. Merry Christmas, Alfred." Angela eyes sparkled with excitement as she sipped the last of her orange juice and Alfred hurried down the hallway toward the front door. " Her name is Melody." she called out to Alfred from the now empty kitchen.

"I need to introduce Melody to Peter. Yes, that would make a nice Christmas indeed."

X-X-X

Tracy Bennet stood behind Noah Jr and Molly and watched the two sat on the floor, eagerly looking over their Holiday gifts, "Can we open a gift now?" Molly pleaded for the fifth time that hour. Noah was also entertaining himself by clapping his hands and making the Christmas tree lights blink off, and then back on again. "Soon my dear, after dinner." Tracy answered as she lifted her hand into the sunlight and watched the early afternoon sunlight glint off her diamond wedding ring. She was happy for the first time in her life. She had a family. The house was decorated for the season and the walls held pictures of her children and her husband smiling back at her. They had worked hard these last few months to return from the dead.

"It looks like the bird should be ready right on time." Noah said from the kitchen as he closed the oven. "What time did you say everyone was showing up?" Noah tossed a towel over his shoulder and wrapped his arms around her waste, scrunching his "Kiss the cook" apron. Tracy relaxed into his embrace, "They should be here within the hour," Tracy replied as she kissed her husband on the cheek, "and Claire should be back with the Ice Cream pumpkin pie any minute."

Molly jumped to her feet and ran to the door and threw it open, just as Clarie Bennet started to fumble for the door knob. "You're late!" Molly announced as she pulled the bags low so she could dig into them for any treasures. "What flavor did you get? It better be double peanut-butter fudge, or Mint-Chip. You know how Daddy loves his Mint."

Claire stepped around Molly and into the apartment, handeding Tracy the bags of groceries and her father a beautiful cheese cake. "I know it wasn't on the list but you love cheese cake." Clarie beamed at her father with a large grin. "You forgot the mint-chip didn't you?" Noah asked as he took the Cheese cake.

Gabriel Grey came through the door way unannounced carrying to the living room several large presents wrapped in glittery red paper and white bows. "I would have been here sooner but flying with all these presents would have been a disaster. Do you realize how much a taxi costs these days? And how slow they are?." Gabriel asked as he set the presents on the floor by the tree and pushed them one at a time under the branches. Noah Jr. squealed with delight and jumped onto Gabriel's back grabbing his hair and pumped his feet into Gabriel's sides "Horsey!" Noah screamed with delight. Gabriel rolled over onto his back and tossed Noah Jr. high into the air. The little boy squealed with delight as he was launched into the air and caught by his Gabriel.

"Oh, please that is so dangerous." Tracy called out from the kitchen, as her eyes grew large with worry, "Claire make his stop!"

Everyone in the apartment stopped frozen by Tracy's outburst. They looked at Gabriel holding Noah Jr. by his mind floating in mid-air, with his hands outstretched ready to catch him if he fell. Then everyone broke out into laughter, Tracy the loudest as she realized what she had just said.

"What is funny?" Hiro asked as he flashed into the apartment with a young woman at his side. "Hiro!" Molly screamed in delight and ran to him, catching the young boy around the waste and squeezed hard. "We weren't sure if you were going to make it." Tracy said in with a big smile and trying to stop laughing. She composed herself and took both of Hiro's hands in her own while and turning toward the woman at his side. "Can you please introduce me Hiro? I do not believe your Sister and I have officially met yet." Hiro turned and introduced his sister Kimiko to Tracy; "This is my Older Sister Kimiko. She now runs my father's company and looks after me, until I can grow up again."

The in hast Hiro and grabbed Molly's hand "I have to show you what I got for Christmas," and they were gone in a flash.

"It is very nice to meet you Kimiko, Welcome to our humble home." Tracy said as Hiro's sister bowed in greeting and handed her a steaming bowl of white rice and a large platter of exotic sushi. "Thank you for inviting us we are greatly honored. One moment please?" Kimiko said with another bow and a quick dial of her cell phone. She turned away from the family and spoke into the phone with authority and sternness, "Hiro, you get your bum back here right now. Do you hear me? You can show Molly your toys when dinner is over. Your action figures and comic books are not going anywhere. No buts, get back here now!"

Behind her Hiro and Molly flashed back into the room. "Yes, Ma'am." Hiro said as he put his cell phone away and bowed in respect.

"That's okay Hiro, I can show you my things first, I got a new dress. Its a lovely shade of salmon. And I got matching hair scrunchies, and a new doll with blue eyes, come on." Molly spoke a mile a minute as she grabbed his hand and pulled him toward her room. Hiro glanced at Gabriel and Noah with the look of save me, but they only smiled and Gabriel said, "Have fun children, you only are young once." Noah snorted to himself as the doorbell rang. Molly let go of Hiro's hand and ran for the door and flung it open "Grandma!"

In walked Angela Petrelli with a beautiful young lady at her side. Alfred stepped past them with a mountain of presents and handed them off to Gabriel. Angela took her coat off, and laid it across her arm, "Merry Christmas everyone" Noah greeted Angela with a kiss on the cheek as he took her coat. "Merry Christmas Angela. It is good to see you."

Everyone stared at the new arrival. Her beauty and pose made Molly stand quietly and for a moment silently take in the face. Angela turned toward the young lady, "This is Melody, she is Alfred's distant cousin and last surviving relative. She is a delightful young girl and has come to live with us at the estate while she works through her internship as a nurse at the hospital. She is going to be working at the new Pediatrics wing." She announced as she greeted Claire and Tracy with warm hugs and kisses. "Is Peter here yet?"

"Is Peter here yet?" Peter's voice said from the hallway, "Why am I late?" He stepped into the apartment with his arms loaded with presents and several bottles of sparkling apple cider. Molly could hardly contain herself as Peter placed his gifts under the tree and handed the bottles to Tracy with a hug. This was the very best day of her life. "Merry Christmas!" Molly shouted out as she launched herself into his arms. She pulled herself back from the embrace, with a big smile and a twinkle in her eyes, "Grandma brought a girl for you to meet." Molly said looking over his shoulder behind him, directing his attention. She leaned in and said in his ear "She is absolutely beautiful!"

Peter dropped Molly to the floor as he turned and shook Melody's outstretched hand and welcomed her to the Christmas gathering. Molly bubbled with joy and excitement as she declared to Melody, "This is my Uncle Peter, he is the greatest person you will ever meet in your entire life. He is very special. You just have to love him as much as I do." Noah Bennet placed a gentle arm across Tracy's shoulders and whispered into her ear, "How much sugar has that girl had so far today?"

Suddenly Molly's eyes burst into a glowing bright blue light. She dropped to the floor on her knees. A grin spread across the young girls face as her countenance lit up like an angel. Melody stepped backward away from the girl and toward the apartment with worry and alarm. What had she gotten herself into? Alfred took her hand in his own and patted it gently, "Melody, my dear there are few things you will need to know about being part of this family," he said chuckling under his breath, "I'll tell you all about it after dinner."

The family gathered around the little girl as her eyes burned a bright blue and then faded back to her normal color. Her face lit up like a star as she grinned from ear to ear. She looked around for Peter. She jumped up and down with excitement and she clasped his face in her hands, "I just felt a new special!" The rest of the family took a breath in shock. Then Molly eyes burned a bright blue once more "No, Wait!" she spoke in a hushed but elated voice. Her eyes glowed and filled the room with a soft blue haze, "Twins!"

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

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	2. Chapter 2

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix  
Chapter two - Awakenings**

The man sat down slowly into his large overstuffed easy chair with a relaxing sign. His muscles released their tension as he closed his eyes with a slight audible groan, and rested his head against the head rest of the overstuffed chair; covered with a soft quilt decorated in a pattern that reminded him of his childhood, now more than six decades in the past. His silvered hair fell across his face in a tangled mess of cowlicks and forgetfulness, with just a shadow of brown curls from a long past youth, now hidden amongst his silver locks. His black rimmed glasses slipped down along his nose and caught at the end of a slim gold chain, avoiding the dreaded drop into his lap, or the folds of the overstuffed chair's cushions. His sweater, now shrunken to almost an unbearable tightness stretched bravely across his slender body, held together by a single remaining but determined button. The thread bare sweater covered his tall, frail frame against the cold of the room. The patches covering his elbows scraped across the arms of the recliner chair as he lifted a hand and pinched his fingertips across on the bridge of his nose, fighting back against an encroaching head-ache; all the while the sounds of traffic and city noise crept into the small room of his very meager home.

The man reached out to a small table beside his chair and encompassed long fingers still strong with dexterity, around a room temperature glass of burgundy wine. The wine was his only vice he still enjoyed now in his later years. It was a comfort against so much loss and anguish. The glass he had placed there on the small table as he had taken his place in his restful throne. He calmly took a sip of his glass as the corner wood burning stove flickered shadow and flame reflections across his face and the walls of the room around him, washing out the pail colors of the city neon lights that invaded his small home through the cracks in his window coverings and the gap below his front door and the floor. The walls around him smelled or dust, wood smoke, and decades of sanitation neglect. The wall paper style from the early 1950s was barely distinguishable through the grime that covered its surface; more brick wall and plaster shown through the pealing and fading wallpaper than it covered after years of abandonment unto the savage elements and human neglect.

The man sipped his wine, and savored his meager indulgence as the chaos and crime of the city that never slept bellowed and raved beyond his doors. Sirens blared as young female voices shouted at the police officers for scaring off their "Johns". Running feet, and squealing tires preceded a crash as metal crunched against metal. A call out from a gruff man's voice followed by a reeving engine and the pop, pop of gun fire caused his heart to jump. It was another night, like so many before. How long had it been? How long had he been hiding, how long had he been running? It had been years since he had lived amongst the upper socialites of any city. It felt like decades since he had slept in clean sheets.

The man placed the glass once more on the small table and rose to his feet slowly. His body was getting tired. He would not be able to keep up the pace much longer. The years of hiding and evading those pursuing after him were taking their toll. He lifted a long 2x4 beam of wood and slipped it into place to block the door for the night. There was no power to the small house, so there was no porch light to switch off, or a heater to turn down. A pot of boiling water billowed with steam and began to whistle from the top of the wood burning stove in the corner of the room that served as a makeshift kitchen. He moved quickly and lifted the pot off the stove before the whistle reached a blaring decibel, and with pot in hand rushed to the door leading down to the basement. He placed an ear against the door and listened intently and waited.

The man strained his ears but heard no movement or sounds from below. With a sign of relief he turned back to his chair which faced the basement door and poured the steaming water into a wide pan on the floor. The stream rose and flowed around his face, filling his breath with the sent of the mint and Aloe he had added to the water. He lowered himself back into his easy chair and one by one pulled his laced up dress shoes, and socks off his sore feet and slid them into the mixer as he closed his eyes.

The man jumped in his heart as a gun fired just outside his door and several stray bullets zipped through the thin wood of his home and over his head. A few small holes were left in the wall letting in small beams of pink neon light, as more sirens blared and tires skidded to a stop in the streets beyond. "This is the New York City Police, lay down your weapon and surrender peaceably!" a bullhorn announced. More gun fire resounded from the streets beyond the thin walls of the house as his ears picked up the sound of small feet running up the stairs beyond the door, which lead to the basement bellow. "Blast! So much for a quiet night." the man thought to himself. The basement door burst open and a small girl in a soft pink nightgown rushed into the room and dove into the man's arms without hesitation. In fear her body trembled. She dug her knee into his chair beside the man and climbed into his lap quaking at the violence in the streets that had woken her from below in the basement. Her small frame she curled into a ball as she whimpered in fear. She was scared, she was frightened.

The man tried to calm her as he spoke in a reassuring voice, "It is alright baby girl, Grandpa is here. It is just some noise outside." The man ran his fingers through the young girls long blond hair. Her hair was so soft and golden. It reminded the man of the girl's mother, before the accident; before the fire. Her perfect skin was flushed and glistened with a hint of sweat, from her fear. He could feel her heart racing inside her small delicate body. She needed to calm down. She needed to rest. "Esmeralda it is alright. There are policemen outside trying to stop a bad man. Look, I have bared the door and covered the window. We are safe. You will be just fine." He could feel a dull pain begin to grow along the edges of his soft tissue. His entire body began to hurt under the pressure being applied. "Sweet heart, you need to practice the techniques I showed you." The man placed a reassuring hand on her small back, as drops of crimson blood landed onto her pink nightgown while she lifted her head and looked into his eyes; which frightened her even more.

The man calmly pulled a cloth from his sweater pocket and pressed it against his nose as blood gushed forth and the floor of the house began to shake. His eyes began to quiver and his vision blurred. His head felt like it was in the center of a vice and someone the size of Thor was turning the crank to tighten the grip. The walls of the house shook and strained under an invisible hand as the girl in his lap began to cry. His head hurt with incredible pain as he fumbled against the mounting pressure on his body and mind, blood trickled down the sides of his face from his ears and the corners of his eyes. He had only a few seconds before he would pass out. He dug out from his shirt pocket a syringe filled with a glowing violet liquid. With shaking fingers he fumbled with the needle cover.

"Please Papa!" the girl cried out with a pleading voice amongst her tears, "no more medicine. I will be a big girl. I will be good!"

"I am so sorry my child, but you are hurting me!" the man gasped through clenched teeth, and lungs that felt like he had just run a marathon. The ground shook with more fierceness and people outside began to scream. Cars screeched and crashed into other vehicles. Women and men squealed in horror of the unknown, as the pressure in their heads built to overwhelming levels. Street lights flickered and exploded in a rain of sparks and glass. Car alarms blared in all directions outside. "You cannot control it baby girl, you're hurting people!" the man pleaded. He knew if she did not take the injection willingly she could stop him, he was fading fast. It was not in her heart to be cruel, she was only frightened. She was not evil, just a little girl with developmental control issues. "Listen! Do you hear the screams child; there are mothers, and babies out there!"

"I'm sorry!" the little girl cried as the man fought against the pressure on his body and with expert skills let the needle slip into her skin just at the base of her neck. The man pressed the plunger on the syringe forcing the glowing violet liquid to flow into her body, into her blood stream, and into her system. As the medicine mixed with her blood her eyes began to droop with weariness. "I'm sorry papa, forgive me."

"It's okay child, Grandpa will make it all better." the man whispered into her ear as the shaking of the house and the pain in his head, and over his body subsided. He had to get out of the City. It was time to run again. The powers were growing too powerful and too fast, the process was accelerating beyond anything he had expected. Something was wrong this time. He desperately needed his equipment, a lab. He needed to get her out of the reach of those that would be coming.

The man edged his way out of the easy chair leaving the small girl curled up on the seat cushion and made his way to the window. He lifted a corner of the burlap sheet he had hung over the cracked and broken window pane to keep the cold of the evening and prying eyes out. The City streets were quiet now as dozens of citizens lay in silent agony on the ground. Police and criminals were unconscious with their hands holding the sides of their heads. "Tomorrow, we will leave in the morning." the man muttered to himself as his ears picked up the soft but determined step of someone climbing the basement stairs. He recognized the step. He knew that sound.

"NO!" She had been sedated for the evening. If she was awake? His heart beat with fear. His mind felt numb. The back of his neck broke out in a cold sweat. He stepped toward the basement door, pulling out of his rear pocket a small stun gun and held it ready. As once again the basement door opened and a young girl stepped out into the room. She wore a soft blue nightgown that matched her eyes perfectly. She had one hand curled into a fist as she rubbed the sleep out of the corner of her eyes. She was identical to the small girl curled up in the easy chair is every detail; even her voice had the same tone and inflections as she asked, "Papa?"

X-X-X

"Twins!" Molly Walker exclaimed as her eyes burned a soft blue light, and a big smile spread across her pixy sized face. Then Molly grabbed her heart and fell to the floor in violent convulsions. Her eyes stopped glowing as her body convulsed about on the open floor at Peter's feet. Her fingers gripped her heart and turned white at the knuckles, against a pain the shot through the little girl's body. Quickly Peter with sudden speed scooped the small body of Molly off the floor and rushed to the couch.

Gabriel quickly handed young Noah to Claire as everyone circled around in concern. "Tracy, I need a cool wet towel." Peter directed as he took his leather wallet out of his rear pocket and forced it between Molly's grinding teeth. Gabriel and Peter lifted Molly gently off the floor and rushed her to her room as she thrashed around in their arms. Angela threw back the covers of the girl's small bed and adjusted the pillows as the men laid her down on the sheets.

Tracy ran for the kitchen sink to wet a towel and was intercepted by Melody who had already found a towel in the bathroom and was rushing back to the small girl with the cool washcloth. "Already have one!" Melody chirped as she rushed past the worried woman and to Peter's side, in the little girl's room. With smoothness from practiced agility she placed the cool compress on the young girl's forehead and placed an emergency kit she had found under the bathroom sink at Peter's side, as she skillfully took over holding the leather wallet in Molly's mouth. With gentle fingers she turned Molly's head to the side and adjusted the cool towel as it started to slide off the little girls face.

The bright cheerfulness of the pinks, blues, and whites of the little girl's room did nothing to calm the fears of the family the gathered around the bed in worry. Young Hiro knelt on the floor beside her bed and laced his fingers through Molly's own and watched with pain as she thrashed about on the bed. His sister stood by the door with a look of fear on her face. She had known it was bad idea to get involved with this group. Death, pain, suffering was all that she associated with the individuals in this room. Hiro was an adult, technically, but until he grew back into his adult body she was his court appointed guardian. She had resisted this trip for the Christmas holiday. But Hiro had thrown a fit, and insisted that Molly was his only friend.

Peter opened the emergency kit and pulled out a stethoscope, and inserted the ear buds in his ears. "She is grabbing her heart!" Melody informed with a calming voice. She pressed her first two fingers against Molly's throat to feel her pulse. "Heart rate is rapid and fluctuating." She released the air in the pressure sleeve she had over Molly's arm, "Blood pressure 220 over 135. She is going to go into cardiac arrest."

"Peter!" Tracy cried as she covered her mouth with her hands in worry.

Peter with one swift turn of his hand opened the top button of the young girls blouse and placed the stethoscope to her chest. He didn't need the stethoscope to hear her heart beat; with his enhanced hearing her heart beat sounded like a freight train in the small bedroom; but it would aide him in a diagnosis of what was wrong. Was this her pain, or someone she was linked to through her powers? The pain happened just as she had linked to two new specials.

Suddenly Molly dropped to the bed, her thrashing over. "I have no pulse!" Melody announced. "Blood pressure is dropping!" She lifted the closed eye lids and looked into the tear filled eyes before her, "Her pupils are fixed and dilated!"

Melody looked at Peter as he did not move. Was he going to let this girl just die? "Not on my watch!" She shouted to herself as she shoved Peter aside and began CPR on the little girl's body. "Someone call 911! Get me an ambulance right away! Uncle Alfred use my phone, it is in my purse by the front door. Don't just stand there like this is the first time you have seen death. We can save her, we can bring her back." Melody stooped her chest compressions and pinched Molly's nose closed as she drew in a long breath. Then Peter placed his hand over Molly's mouth.

"What are you doing? Are you a nurse or what? Let me save her!" Melody screamed in Peter's face. She lifted a fist and pounded it as hard as she could into the center of his chest, "what are you? What kind of monster are you?" Peter said nothing by closed his eyes and rested a hand over the Molly's heart and breathed out slowly. A white glow encompassed the young girl and built to a brightness that filled the room, and then faded. With an arc of the back and a gasp of air Molly came back from the beyond and began to cough violently.

Melody picked up the leather wallet that had fallen out of Molly's mouth and handed it to Peter in stunned silence, as the little girl opened her eyes and began to cry in fear. "It looks like the worse of it has passed." Tracy reassured Molly as she wrapped her loving arms around her child and held her tight in comfort. "Peter, what happened?"

"She must have linked with a special that linked back." Peter thought as he absentmindedly used the cool towel and cleaned Molly's tears away. "Whoever she linked to must have linked back. The mental powers of this new special but be beyond anything Molly had experienced before."

"Their gone! Incredible Pain! More than the boggy man! But I can't feel them now. It's like their hidden in a cloud..." Molly gasped as Peter held a glass of water to her shaking hands and helped her take a drink.

X-X-X

Detective Sam Beckett sat in a rundown diner at the far end of town, nursing a warm cup of coffee. The diner was an old 1950's teen hang out that had long since lost its luster. The paint was a dusty teal blue that had faded over the decades since its last touch up, and the pictures hanging on the walls hailed from a bygone era that boasted of leather jackets, slicked back hair, and hot rods painted with flames and lightening on the sides. Sometimes he would dream as he sat in his usual spot that he had been born in the wrong time. He could imagine his life so much different had he been born twenty years earlier.

It had been a long recovery these last few months. He had clocked in more than twenty years in the force before the Central Park Massacre, the gunning down of his entire precinct, the murder of his brother only a few feet away and he was powerless to stop it. It was only a few months ago, but it felt like a lifetime. Then to return after defeating a devil that he can never tell a living soul about; he came home to find his wife and children dead in a murder suicide. She had been a victim of the Hitler propaganda machine. His babies and his lovely Nova were now buried in small pine wood boxes and a combined burial plot that had drained his life savings. He had taken the past few months off through a combination of accumulated sick leave and vacation pay. He needed to clear his head. He needed to set things straight. He needed to grasp his mind around the new understanding of reality that had been thrust upon him.

Each day the sun had come up just like before. Each day the stars had passed across the sky. Each day his bills came in the mail. Each day his stomach was hungry and his mind alert. Each day seemed like the same as before; but now nothing was the same. He was not the same. His life was forever changed. He had witnessed a woman turn to water; a child's eyes glow blue. He has tele-ported with a military strike force half way across the continent. He had seen a man launch himself into the sky like a comic book superhero, and then there was that Peter Petrelli. He made his brain hurt.

All that death. All that destruction just for one young girl barely out of her teenage years.

He had spent some time with his mother in upstate, but it had not helped. He had traveled to Disneyland all the way in California to fulfill and promise he had made to his wife that last summer, but he had only spent a solitary week sitting glumly in the happiest place on hearth, watching children running and playing with their families with a hollow pit in the depth of his stomach. He had even embarked upon a cruise through the Caribbean Sea and visited several islands, which his mother and extended family had all pitched in to pay for. But the sense of change and fear had not passed. Now on the first night back at work in months he felt more lost than ever.

He felt like he needed direction, purpose. He needed something to happen to get his mind off his own problems. He wished no ill on any living soul, but it was just too quiet, and this quite would never drown out the cries of his mind to make sense of the life changing events that had happened to him. He visited their graves that afternoon, as he had done every afternoon for months. Each visit he pot new flowers on their tombstone and brushed away any fallen leaves or grass that might cover even a corner of the stone. His mother called him daily now to check on him and give him comfort. Would he ever feel better?

His phone set to vibrate began to clatter on the counter beside him. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was his mom. He would let this one go to voicemail. "Florence, how much for the last slice of your pumpkin pie?" he asked of the waitress as she filled his near empty cup with fresh steaming hot coffee. "That slice?" she asked. "That slice is not for sale." she smiled shoving her white breath minded gum into the side of her mouth, and clenched between her teeth. "That slice is the last fresh baked pumpkin pie in the City that I made with these two hands." The waitress set the pot of coffee on the counter and lifted her small hands up for the man to see. "I am saving it for a special reason."

"Fresh baked? You made that pie?" Sam looked at the slice in the glass case. It had been years since he had had home made fresh baked pumpkin pie. His stomach and now his heart pushed him all the more now to want the slice. "How much, name your price."

"You want my special pie? My last slice of handmade, mama's personal recipe, fresh baked pie?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You want that pie with hand whipped cool cream that will make your heart swoon?

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You want to take my last slice, from the hand that made it and has not even had the opportunity to taste a slice?"

Detective Beckett cautiously looked around the small diner; they were the only ones in the place other than the cook in the kitchen. "We could share?"

"Now that just might be a tempting invitation." Florence smiled as she opened the pie case and placed the plate on the counter. "You know detective, you have been coming into my diner all most every night for the last several months. You seem sad and alone. You have a kind and honest face, but you look as if you have a hole right through the center of your heart."

"You don't know the half of it..." he mumbled as she rambled on.

"You should be with your wife and children tonight of all nights." She pulled out a small refrigerator a container of handmade whipped cream and scooped out a large dollop and decorated the slice of pie with its white pure mound; and topped it with a sprig of mint leaf.

"No wife, no children to go home to." Sam said as vision clouded from watching her every move.

Florence looked at the man sitting at her counter. He was a broken man, but not a lost man. He seemed like a soul that could be repaired if the right person took the wheel.

"Well now, I think I can now name my price." She said as she took a fork and cut a piece of pie and lifted it to the Detectives opening lips. "A dinner that I don't have to cook and a theater show that I can dress up and look sociable for once in my life."

Sam's eyes re-focused on the woman beyond the offered bite of pie. She was a kind woman. What harm could a sing night of a diner and theater be? His mother would be so happy she would drive down just to do his laundry make sure he looked presentable, "Deal."

Florence grinned and placed the fork in the Detectives mouth, as the door opened and the bell rung announcing a new customer, "Be right back, save me a bight."

Detective Beckett's phone rattled once more on the counter. He lifted it and checked the caller ID. It was central dispatch.

X-X-X

Noah Bennet stood in the center of Chaos as he looked around slowly to take what was before his eyes. A section of the old town was now out of power, with street lights blown and shattered for blocks in all directions. He leaned over the hood of his car and marked one more red X on his map. The map fluttered in the mild wind of the early evening as he held the map down with one hand and examined the chart before him. A circle of red X's marked every blown street light and home or business that was now without power. He now stood in the epicenter of that circle.

Ambulances filled the streets as injured people were helped and treated by the emergency response teams. Police cars with their lights flashing washed out the colors of the old city block, into patterns of red and blue. This side of town had been hit hard by the economic down turn and dozens of buildings stood vacant and boarded up against vagrants or vandalism. This was now the new rough section of town where the different gangs were trying to mark their territories, like male dogs marking the trees in their yards. Prostitutes and runaways filled the streets and found shelter at night in some of the abandoned apartment buildings surrounding the area. This was a place the police should be patrolling every hour; but rarely ventured into due to the level of danger and he didn't blame them.

He made a mental note to call Tracy and let her know this was going to take a little longer than he had thought. Molly's attack and this power outage seemed to have happened at the same time. Somehow they were connected. It had been less than 10 minutes after her recovery and he had received a call about the blackout. He had hoped to get home before the cutting of the turkey and presents but it looked like that was not going to happen.

Dozens of people complained of headaches, nausea, and periods of passing out just at the time of the energy blackout. He folded up his map and slipped it into the inner pocket of his jacket as a Police Sergeant approached him. "Detective Benett? I am Officer Zham. I have a few witnesses that can speak to you if you are ready."

"Thank you Officer, I am waiting for my new partner. He should be doing the interviews, you know how it is being a little green and not wanting to compromise the evidence." Noah Benett replied.

"Well these people have been through a lot and want to go home," Officer Zham nodded his head at the new Detective to show that he understood. "They will only be able to wait a little longer. If you can't get to them tonight, you will miss the freshness of the on sight interview."

"I understand, thank you." Noah lifted his phone to his ear to make a call, as he adjusted his Detective badge attached to his belt beside his City issued sidearm; when out of the crowd and fog of the sewer vents his new partner approached. "Here he is now." His new partner looked frustrated and irritated to be called out on a night like this. Almost as if he had been called away from a pivotal moment in his life. His eyes held back a barely contained anger, shielded by the trained mask of concern and professionalism of more than two decades serving the public.

Noah's Bennet's new partner thrust out his hand and took the Officer's outstretched mitt and shook it in a hearty greeting. "Detective Sam Beckett, sorry that I am late. What can you tell me about tonight?" he spoke as he glared at Noah Bennett through the corner of his eye, and whispered to Noah as the Officer led them toward a small group of witnesses; "You're a Detective now?"

"Nice to see you again, Sam." Noah smiled. "How is your mother?"

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

*****PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK*****

*****YOUR REVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME*****


	3. Chapter 3

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix****  
****Chapter three - time to run again**

Tracy rolled over in the warm sheets of her bed and placed a sleepy hand on the pillow that should have cradled the head of her new husband. With her eyes closed and a frown marring her brow she slid her hand along the satin sheets wearyingly searching for his touch. He was not in the bed with her. Slowly her mind cleared from her sleep and she remembered Noah was on a call with his new partner and position with the New York City police force. He had been scheduled to start at his new position after the first of the year, but there had been an emergency and just as the turkey had been carved and the family had grasp hands to say grace, his phone had rung and it had been his new boss.

Tracy pulled his pillow across the bed to her chest and hugged it close against her body, while breathing in the faint aroma of his scent. She missed him already and it was only the first night on the job. She had understood when Noah took the job that there might be nights where he did not have the opportunity to come home. She knew a detective was the best position for him to help keep the family safe, allowing him to do what he did best; but still have somewhat of a normal life. She thought back to the day he came home from his interview and showed her his new badge. It was a huge step in their plans to create a new life, a new beginning. He was like a child with his first puppy. They had dinner that night over candlelight, and he spoke more to his of dreams and the future than he had ever spoken since she had married him.

After Noah left, Peter and Gabriel had been a great help by stepping in and taking over the lead in his absence. They had managed the festivities and gift exchanged planned with ease and excitement. Everyone had a great time, even Alfred's niece Melody seemed to enjoy herself, and was very excited when Angela had produced a gift for her to participate in the fun. Gabriel had been like a child watching his new family open their holiday gifts with happiness and glee. He had selected while shopping each gift with intent, according to his hearts reflection on the person he had purchased for. He presented a gift of his own selection to each member of his family like he had just placed a crown of gold at their feet in worship. When Noah had opened his present from him; Gabriel had watched every move. His eyes tracked every movement. He caught every twitch, every glint in Noah's eyes as he un-wrapped the bright glittery paper with handfuls of ripping and tarring. Noah was young but it was not his first Christmas.

Little Noah pulled at the tape that held the box lid closed and grunted with satisfaction when the tape broke and the lid popped off and fell to the floor at his feet. With a gasp of silence he lifted out of the box a action figure dressed in a cowboy outfit. The Cowboy had black pants and a pale blue shirt. His boots were black, but his hat was white. Its toy holster was black and held two plastic silver six-shooters. Noah's looked at the toy and turned it over slowly in his hands. He rubbed a small thumb over the cowboys face to see if the mask over his eyes was moveable. Gabriel slid closer to the boy and lifted him into his lap with the toy in his hands. "This is the Lone Ranger. He is a good guy that has to wear a mask to protect the ones he loves. He stood for justice, and honor. He had no special powers, but a heart of gold." Gabriel looked around the room at his new family, "We might each have to wear a mask, like this hero to protect our loved ones, but it is worth it all to be truly loved instead of being all alone." Noah threw his arms around Gabriel's neck and ran off to play with his new toys, with a squeal.

As the evening passed, the family had eventually dispersed. Each had departed their own way home with hugs and kisses as they left. Alfred had promised to return and help clean up in the morning. Hiro and his sister had their sleeping bags on the floor in the living room, settling in for a movie night with popcorn. They were staying the night, as she had an important meeting tomorrow in the New York office of their father's company. Molly had begged to stay up and watch old movies with them, as Tracy caught her dragging a pillow and blankets from her room. She had relented and given her permission to Molly and surrendered to her tired soul hours ago, and Noah was still not home.

Quietly Tracy swung her legs out of the sheets and placed her small feet on the hardwood floor. She lifted her cell phone from off the bed stand to her blurry, and weary eyes, it was 2 o'clock in the morning.

X-X-X

Claire Bennet lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling in deep thought. The day had been full of joy and festivities. It had been the first time she could remember in the last few years where she felt loved, safe, and able to relax. The presence of Peter and Gabriel gave the apartment a feeling of Fort Knox. She was safe inside an impenetrable fortress. She rested one arm behind her pillow, as she looked toward the clock on the bed stand beside her. It was 2am and she could not sleep. The bunk above her was empty as Molly was in the living room having a movie night with Hiro and his sister. Her heart beat strong under her skin, without a hint of being tired. She had brought young Noah to the room hours ago, hoping to fall asleep quietly among her thoughts. Little Noah slept soundly beside her having fallen asleep in her arms still clutching the Lone Ranger toy in his hands.

She had not expected such a gift from him.

Claire drew her slim finger along the pearl necklace that lay across his neck and rested on her bare skin. The pearls in the necklace were perfectly round and had a soft tint of rose in them when you lifted it to the light. The smoothness of the pearls made her skin tingle and heart swell in her chest with pride. What did such a gift mean? Hiro had seen the gift under the tree and pulled it forward with anticipation. He had helped Gabriel place it there when he arrived, and he had noticed it had been saved for last. It was a small unassuming box, flat. She had reached out her hand to receive the gift with a little trepidation and saw her fingers tremble slightly as her finger tips touch his.

As she opened the box and the ladies in the room gasped in a unified breath when they saw what was in the box; she felt worry and a little fear. It was too beautiful. It was too expensive. It was too rich for her to ware. Angela had asked to see the box as Tracy helped her drape the pearls around her neck. It felt so wrong to accept such a gift; but it gave her a rush and brought a flush feeling to her cheeks as she put it on. She looked up at Gabriel as he sat there on the floor before her on his knees. His hands clasp together, fingers intertwined. His face was softened with a smile, "Something from the bottom of the ocean, for the one I found at the bottom of the sea."

She had kissed his gently on the cheek as she whispered a thank you through a dry mouth of awe and surprise.

Peter had patted Gabriel on the shoulder and said something to him that she could not hear, whatever he had said; it had been said with a smile.

They had spent the rest of the evening on the terrace, looking up into the sky. Gabriel told her of his plans to go open a shop down town; a shop to fix watches and clocks. He wanted to make her proud of him. He wanted to live a quiet and humble life. They had talked of dreams and plans for the future. Claire gently rolled over in her sheets and looked out the window into the night sky. He was out there, protecting the city; being a hero. Was he doing it to impress her? She closed her eyes as she crossed her arms over her breasts to get warm. Would her father say? Please let him like the necklace, she pleaded to the heavens above.

She had not expected such a gift from him.

X-X-X

Gabriel Gray leaned against the cold stone of the building brick behind his back. He loved this particular perch high above the city. The skyscraper provided a 360 degree view point of the city below for miles without any major obstructions of his line of sight. He liked that the building did not lease its roof top to the local cell tower companies and he could sit quietly listening to the city below, without the constant humming at the base of his neck from the signal waves. He lifted the sleeve of his jacket and glanced at his watch, it was 2am and he could not sleep.

When he could not sleep he found himself here, trying to clear his mind of the pressures and concerns that plagued him. He wanted so hard to do right by Claire. He wanted with every ounce of his soul for her just to be happy, safe, and a willing part of his life. He needed with every fiber of his heart to be a part of her life and family. He could not fathom a day without Claire and little Noah bringing joy and excitement to his heart. It seemed like they were now the only thing in his life that gave him purpose, direction, and stability.

Christmas day he finally had stiffened his resolve to asked Peter to join him for a late night coffee. He was going to ask him for a loan. A small loan, so that he could start a small shop downtown. A shop that would place him in the center of town where he would be able to keep his eyes open for trouble, but also so that he could apply himself to a craft. He needed to keep his mind active, to force out the haunting faces and chilling screams of his past victims. He needed a place to belong so that he could build something that Claire would be proud to be a part of.

He had caught Peter in the hallway outside of the apartment, as they left after the festivities. Peter had been so busy since their return that they had not had much time together, and he missed their comrade. He even sometimes missed the mental prison where it was just the two of them for what seemed like hundreds of years. "Peter! Do you have a moment?" He had called out as Peter hurried down the stairs at the end of the hallway. Peter had stopped and turned to him with a look of friendship and openness that exploded is a bright smile. "Gabriel, yes. I have an appointment downtown, would you like to ride with me?"

"We could fly. We would get there faster." Gabriel mentioned as he caught up to his closet friend. "True, but that would risk too much. It is better for this appointment to arrive in a taxi." He had shrugged his shoulders not completely understanding or particularly caring one way or the other; but if Peter wanted to ride in a Taxi it would give them time to talk.

Peter settled into the back seat of the yellow taxi cab as Gabriel pulled the door closed. "Wall Street and Pearl please." Peter chimed out as the driver pulled away from the curb, and into the flow of traffic. "So Gabriel, what did you want to ask of me?" Peter opened the conversation as he placed his shoulder bag in his lap and dug through its contents looking for something, as if it was important.

"Peter, I was hoping...I wanted to ask if." he remembered stammering out as Peter's cell phone rang, and he suddenly found himself facing a uplifted hand as Peter motioned for silence and answered to call. He stared out the window as the cab turned onto the Brooklyn Bridge and made it's way into the financial district of the city and onto Wall Street. Peter spoke into the phone in a hushed voice with little comment throughout the ride. "Thank you for completing the transaction so late in the day. I am sure we can manage from here. Please tell the staff Merry Christmas and I will see they each receive a generous bonus in the mail before the New Year."

Peter put his phone away as the driver pulled up to the corner of Pearl and Wall Street as directed and came to a halt. "This is my stop," Peter acknowledged and paid the driver as he stepped out onto the sidewalk. "Gabriel," he called back, "Walk with me."

Gabriel remembered stepping out of the cab with frustration. It was so hard to ask for a favor of this magnitude. He would pay him back every penny, but to humble himself and ask Peter for a loan was tying his tongue in his mouth, like a steer just hog tied out of the shoot at the rodeo. He had followed after Peter as they made their way to a shop where a single man was just locking the front doors and preparing to leave for the night. "Oh, good we made it just in time." Peter had said as they hurried across the way and to the shops door. The man spoke to Peter in hushed tones before he took a long look at Gabriel, starting at his feet and all the way to his face, and finally resting on his eyes in a deep stare.

Peter and Gabriel stepped into the shop and Gabriel drew in a sudden deep breath. Everywhere he looked was lined with clocks and watches of all makes and models. The front glass case held more than a dozen watches he recognized instantly that retailed for more than 10,000 a piece. He was at a loss for words. He was in a clock maker's paradise. "You wanted to ask me a question?" Peter asked.

Gabriel looked around the beautiful store with awe, "Yes, question. Need to ask you a question." he mumbled absentmindedly, "Question for Peter..."

"Gabriel, I am sorry but I don't understand your question."

Gabriel came back his senses quickly, took a deep breath and spouted out before he lost his nerve, "I want to make Claire proud of me. I want you to be proud of me, I want Noah to have what I never had; I want to give him a dad that loves him. I need to start a small business or something to make an honest living. Something small, that I can build into something grand. I need a loan, but I promise to pay you back: every penny!" He had closed his mouth then and watched Peter's face intently for his response.

"Gabriel, I knew I had forgotten something, tonight. I forgot your Christmas present."

Was Peter not hearing him? Had he brought him here to buy him a late present? He looked around the store once more and thought, with the price of just one of the watches in this store, he could buy a vending street cart and open a hot dog business and not have to ask for a loan after all.

"Peter, did you bring me here to pick-out a watch for my Christmas present?"

Peter took Gabriel's hands in his and looked into his eyes like a father into the hopeful eyes of his beloved son. "No."

Gabriel felt something pressed into his fingers as Peter released his hands and watched as he looked into his open palm and saw a key.

"Make me proud, Gabriel. This store is your Christmas present."

It was now 2am and he could not sleep.

X-X-X

Angela Petrelli sat up with a start and a sudden gasp of air. She placed a trembling hand against her heart to calm its racing pace deep inside her body. She was covered in a glistening glow of sweat and worry. Her fingers were trembling as she tried to calm her nerves. She had fallen asleep at the counter in the kitchen. She looked at the clock on the wall with red rimmed eyes of exhaustion and fear. It was 2am in the morning. She slid to her feet off the counter stool and placed her coffee mug of Darjeeling tea back in the microwave to warm it up. With trembling fingers she managed to press the control buttons and then start.

She was afraid to go back to sleep. Since she had placed her head on her pillow; she mind had been bombarded with images and visions of a dreaded future: a future of flames, death, agony, and sorrow. She wanted desperately to rest from the recent events and just have a quiet "normal" life for a little time. But it would seem that the option escaped her, and it was time to plan and prepare for the doom that was pressing against her soul.

Doom and fire. Dread and death were on the horizon.

She needed to see more to be sure. Her dreams were not an exact science. They were a series of images that when combined told a sorry; a story of a future possibility, or a course of action that would bring about a result. She had time. She needed more information. The farther away from the dreamed events the more abstract and less defined her dreams would be. Sometimes her dreams could be years before the event ever came to pass.

Angela slid the tea mug out of the microwave and took a mild sip from the hot liquid. The warmth flowed down her throat and as it reached she stomach the feeling of heat and tranquility spread throughout her limbs and body. She held the hot mug under her nose and inhaled the steam from the tea and breathed in the aroma. Her mind began to clear as her heart quieted down deep in her chest; bringing her pulse back into the normal range.

What was she going to do? Could she confide in Peter? Would he know what to do? How could she save the world if she was too terrified to close her eyes in sleep?

Would they all die? Was this the end of all ends? Or was she seeing something that was a possible future if she did not act?

What if what she saw in her dream was the direct result of her pending choices? What if she was seeing a future which she would create by the choices and action of her own hand? What if her fear of what was to come was the reason the future became unavoidable? What if?

Angela sat once more on the stool beside the counter in the kitchen and pulled from a pocket in her thick winter robe a long case. It looked like an oversized pen case. She placed the case on the counter before her and stared at it. Would this be her undoing? Would this simple choice of what she was to do tomorrow with the contents of this case, be the catalyst that ushered in a destruction of all she held dear? She should sleep. She needed to know more. She needed to see the images and process them. She needed to filter the visions and conclude its meanings. She needed to sleep.

A cold shiver ran down her spine. She feared what she had been seeing.

Angela lowered her chin to the nest of her arms interlaced on the counter top and stared at the small case before her. Would tomorrow change the world and place it on the train tracks of doom? Would she be the cause of so much pain and suffering? She should destroy the case now. But would the destruction of the contents of the case before her be the action that cements the future into an unavoidably dread? She must not sleep, she needed to think to plan, to analyze. She needed to know more information; but she feared falling asleep, as her eyes slowly drooped and closed once more in exhaustion.

X-X-X

Noah Bennet looked at his watch as he took a sip of his cold coffee. It had been fresh and hot when the night began. It is 2am and he had long since missed the remnants of Christmas dinner, and the festivities of the gift exchange. He made a mental note to pick up flowers on his way home, to say he was sorry for such a late night. He covered his mouth discreetly to stifle a yawn, as Detective Sam Beckett approached him from across the street. They had been in the center of chaos interviewing witnesses and reviewing the scene for the last several hours. The last of the frightened and injured people had been cared for and the last ambulance was just pulling away into the early morning quiet. Sam stopped beside him and took a sip of his own long cold cup of coffee. "There is a great diner not to far from here, we should go get something to eat before we call it a night." Sam offered as he looked over his note pad and thought things threw.

"Did you get anything from the door to door interviews?" Sam asked as he shoved his pen and pad into his thick winter coats inner pocket.

"Door to door?" Noah looked at Sam with confusion. "You said that row of houses was abandoned, I haven't done a door to door yet."

Sam patted Noah on the shoulder as he smiled a playful grin, "Looks like the Rookie has some more work to do. I will just go shut down and get ready to head out. Call me if you need me." Sam shook his head from side to side as he walked toward his car. "This night is like one of those episodes in that Star trekking show my dad used to watch. It creeps me out." He turned and looked over his shoulder at Noah Bennet, "must be right up your alley."

Noah grumbled under his breath and looked at the line of houses facing the street. Five homes all small and run down. Several of the homes were covered in gang graffiti and the windows had long since been boarded up. Only two of the houses had doors that could be opened and used as functioning access points to the interior of the dwellings. He knew He would have to search each home, but where to start? Should he start with the farthermost place and work his way from one end of the row to the other? Or should he start with the two homes with accessible doors?

He lowered his eyes and turned to look back at Sam, "Rookie?" when a flicker of light in the corner of a window caught the edge of his vision.

The house stood directly before him and it was supposed to be an abandoned building. But it had movement, and light. The house was in a perfect line of sight to see what had happened in the streets earlier that evening. He shoved his cold hands into the depths of his coat pockets and stepped out toward the house before him. He paused at the bottom of the stairs leading to the porch. The house before him was small and snug. It looked like a country cottage that a large city grew up around it. It looked like a house out of place amongst the towering buildings that covered the horizon behind it. It was the only house in the row of abandoned homes that had a front window that was not boarded up or broken.

He squatted down and ran a finger over the middle step of the stair case leading to the porch. The stairs were broken and slanted through age and neglect; however he was looking at a fresh bullet hole. Noah looked over the front of the house once more and took out a small flashlight. The front of the house had several bullet holes in the wall and door, which looked new and menacing. There appeared to be more to last night than they first thought. If someone was in the house, they would be either an aggressor or victim. Either they were shooting and being shot back at, or they were victims of a lead attack by a attacker now long gone.

Noah turned and clicked his flash light several times in the direction of Detective Beckett to get his attention. He was not going to approach the door solo.

Sam Beckett drew his sidearm and dashed across the street and took up a position behind a box truck parked at the curb near the corner of the house. Noah and Sam exchanged knowing looks as Noah cautiously climbed the steps and approached the front door. He gently placed a foot on the porch and settled his weight down on the old boards and felt the porch hold, but it creaked and groaned loudly. He took a second step and the porch groaned even more under his weight and he could hear stirring in the house. He looked back to Sam and watched Sam dash silently through the shadows and stood now at the corner of the building and hide in the darkness at the edge of the porch.

Noah lifted his hand to knock on the door when suddenly light poured out of the house through the window in the lower corner closest to him. His eyes locked on the face a young girl. Her eyes were bright blue with long blonde hair. She looked to be about six or seven years old. Her face was one of curiosity and fear. She looked into his eyes and seemed to look deep into his soul. She wore a soft pink night gown and had a simple pink ribbon that held her hair back from her face. Her eyes were like an ocean of emotion and wonder that pulled his heart to want to protect and save her. She quickly dropped a sheet or canvas over the window and he could hear small feet run away from the door. Noah lifted a hand of caution toward Sam in the shadows as larger feet could be heard in the house and a door opened and closed with the sound of hushed voices.

Noah gently knocked on the thin door and announced, "This is the New York City Police, please open the door."

He could hear a bar lifted away from the door and an older man slowly opened the door as a dim light from an open wood stove flooded the porch and highlighted his form. He looked tired and old. His eyes were hidden in the shadows as he spoke in a deep voice that gave Noah a sudden fleeting memory of his own grandfather, "Good Morning Officer, it is quite late for a house call."

Noah acknowledged the early hour, "I am sorry for the inconvenience, but there has been an incident and I need to ask you a few questions. May I come in?"

"It is late, I am sorry officer, but I will need to ask you to come back at another time." the old man replied with a stone cold face.

Noah took out his pad and pencil, "Can I get your name please? We could come back in the morning if that is best." as he stepped to his left to get a better look into the small house. There was no furniture or pictures on the wall. There was a door that led to a basement just to the left of the kitchen area and near a small hallway that led to a bedroom or two. the condition of the home which he could see, told him these were squatters, and did not live here legally.

"Your name is Sir?" Noah asked as a whizzing sound passed his ear and a thud of impact hit the door jam just to the left of the face of the old man. Bullets impacted in a rain of lead that caused the front of the house and porch to exploded in flying bits of wood and plaster. Sam turned and aimed his revolver toward the source of the fire power and Noah opened his arms and dove through the doorway taking the old man to the floor in his dive. "Stay low!" Noah yelled at the man as he swung around and slid back to the front door and lifted a corner of the canvas covering the front window. He could see the flash of a rifle barrel from high up on a building across the street. Sam was on the run, and he could see him leap into the air and catch the fire escape latter with one hand and muscle himself onto the scaffolding. Noah dropped flat against the floor and took careful aim and fired several rounds toward the building roof and the flashes of light.

The shooter weapon from high on top of the building across the street spat out round after round. Each bullet felt like a burn iron searching for flesh to pierce. The front window shattered in a waterfall of glass over Noah's body. The thin front walls failed to stop the slugs of lead that ripped through them and left gaping holes in the front and back walls of the house. Noah rolled on his shoulder toward the open kitchen stove and with the tip of his shoe slammed the iron door closed, plummeting the small house into sudden darkness. He rolled back to the open door as his cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID, it was Tracy. Why was she still awake? He grabbed his department radio from his belt and whispered into the device, "Sam?"

"Noah, Sam here. They are gone. The roof is clear. I am going to gather evidence. We need to bring in that family for questioning."

Noah rolled over and looked into the darkness of the house and could see that the basement door stood wide open. He jumped to his feet and rushed through the basement door and down the stairs, taking two steps at a time on the stairwell. He reached the bottom step and stopped. The basement was empty, three beds of blankets and pillows were on the floor; otherwise the room was empty. He rushed back up the stairs and checked the bedrooms, and the rest of the house. The backdoor stood wide open, they were gone.

This was going to be a long day.

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

*****PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK*****

*****YOUR REVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME*****


	4. Chapter 4

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix****  
****Chapter four - Scars of life run deep**

Tracy Bennet strolled through Central Park early in the morning just as the Sun crested the Horizon and reflected across the hundreds of window panes of the buildings on the West side of the park. She was worried, but not too worried. Noah had been out all night and had only called twice. She had not realized how hard it would be on her heart to have him gone so long in a single stretch. It was times like this that she missed him but knew in her mind he was trying to build a new life for them. A new life where they did not have to run from their powers and abilities. That they could be safe under his protective hand. Even with all that her mind understood, she was nervous and just needed to get out of the apartment. She had finally given up trying to sleep and was dressed and out the door at the first light of dawn.

She watched as Molly and Hiro ran before her with little Noah chasing after them. They giggled and rolled in the frozen December grass as NJ: as Claire had begun to call him raised his arms high in the air and roared like a lion on the hunt. She loved the children and the richness that they brought to her otherwise lonely life. It amazed her that less than six months ago she was hiding from the world in a small town in the middle of Texas. Her life consisted of laying low and not using credit cards or being caught on any wayward camera or photograph. Her days dulled on through the weeks and months after Noah had set up her new identity, behind the counter of a back woods store in a town that the entire population would not reach a thousand. The big excitement of each day was when the Greyhound bus pulled into the depot and weary travelers disembarked to stretch their legs and several would wander into the small store. She had loved her afternoon lunch breaks though in the local city park of that small town; and was so excited when she and Noah were able to secure their new apartment that overlooked Central Park.

As the Sun crested over the buildings she turned toward the brilliant rays of light and allowed the warmth of the sun to pour over her as she stood still amongst the small drifts of snow, still cowering in the shadows; left-overs from the snow storm that the city had had last week. She loved seeing the park draped in white at Christmas time. With the fog of the nights and the glow of the path lights, it had been like heaven. She stood there in her winter coat and gloves as the children ran and played in the frozen grass and the few drifts of snow. Hiro grabbed a hand full of snow and made a ball to through at Molly when she squealed with playful fear and circled around Tracy and hid behind her from Him. Hiro without thinking threw his weapon and hit Tracy in the side of the face on accident.

"I'm sorry Aunt Tracy! Please forgive me!" He yelled as he ran down the path to escape her wrath with his arms waving in the air to keep his balance as he ran. Molly laughed uncontrollably as Tracy took her glove off and instantly froze the pathway under his feet with a simple touch of her bare hand. Hiro slipped and fell to his rear and slid down the hill as little NJ made his best airplane engine noise and dropped to his belly and slid after him.

"Mom, are you alright?' Molly asked as she tried to stifle her laughter. She reached up and dusted away the snow that had stuck to her adopted mother's face when her eyes lit up a bright glowing blue. Her face went pail with fear and worry as she whispered, "They are here!"

Tracy stood to her full height and motioned for Hiro silently. He understood and grabbed NJ around the waste and with a blink of the eye stood beside her. His face grew grave when he saw Molly's eyes burning bright blue, remembering how close they had been to loosing her just the day before. "Molly, where? Can you see them? Are they in the park?" Tracy asked in a hushed voice as a young couple of park enthusiasts slowly walked by along the path arm in arm. Molly's heart rate began to climb and she broke out in a cold sweat as she looked around and in the distance pointed out a man pushing a stroller with a young girl walking at his side with a pink bow in her hair. "There!" she gasped through clenched teeth. "Hiro! Get her out of here, back to the apartment!" Tracy ordered as she reached out and pinched a nerve that the base of Molly's neck that Peter had showed her the other night and the young girl collapsed to the ground out cold. Hiro looked to his left and then right and after making sure no one was watching them, they vanished. "Mamma's going to go meet our new friends." Tracy muttered to herself as she raced across the park in a hurried walk, almost at a run.

X-X-X

Angela Petrelli could not sleep, she had been up most of the night tossing and turning under the burden of her dreams. Her dreams were fractured and incoherent at this point of the process so she knew she had time. Disaster was looming and she needed to focus, to collect her thoughts on what she knew from her visions and coalesce them into a path or direction to follow. Her face was haggard and showed the signs of her late night as she stirred a spoon in a small cup of hot tea, and looked out the window of the small restaurant in downtown New York City. The population rushed past her as they hurried along with their busy lives. Men and women rushing from one point to the next ever striving for the satisfaction of the raging appetites for material wealth, personal gain, or that day's righteous cause.

The city that never slept was awake and alive with noise, smog, and the blaring horns of the army of yellow cabs the filled the streets. She lifted her hand and at her summons a man dressed in a black and white dress suit brisked across the small restaurant towards her. It was a small restaurant, one with only six tables. A little hole in the wall of elegance and exuberant luxury in the chaos of the center of New York City. She loved this small place, it cost more than the average days wages just to sit and enjoy a cup of tea in the small eating establishment; and the Chef created such delicacies that he had a waiting list booked years in advance for his seven course meal prepared fresh each night of the week except Sundays.

The attendant stood beside her and lifted a silver tea urn filled with boiling fresh water and warmed up her tea cup as a waitress arrived dress in a flowing white and black dress that hovered just below the knees. She carried a tray with Angela's meal on it. The waitress stood silently as the attendant took a new satin cloth and gently with experienced hands snapped it in open in the air and placed it on his guests lap. He then took a white porcelain breakfast plate decorated with a ring of fresh fruit and handmade cottage cheese on the table before her. He then placed a single boiled egg in a tall egg stand made of white ivory in the center of her plate, in the center of the ring of fresh cut fruit.

Angela looked over her meal with satisfaction as she tapped the top of the egg with her spoon as the attendant, stood to attention and walked away from her table without a single word. Her mind was conflicted as she absentmindedly ate her meal. Alfred had dropped her off early that morning before sunrise. She had been sitting over her tea for the last thirty minutes trying to formulate a plan. She had to gather her thoughts, she had to visualize it. She had to warn the others, but she could not go to them with only vague notions and dreams that did not provide details to steer the ship of their lives by.

After a bit she placed her fork on the plate and draped her napkin over the remnants of her meal. She was not hungry. She needed to get something out of her mind. She needed clarity. She needed what she really came to the restaurant for. The attendant arrived like a ghost and with a quick movement cleared the table and watched the woman carefully for her desire to be spoken. "I believe it is time to go upstairs." Angela directed as her attendant drew back her chair and the waitress lifted her coat off the hidden rack by the front door. She smiled as the waitress opened her wrap and the warmth of the coat draped her body.

"This way, please." the attendant summoned and led her through the restaurant to a back door near the restrooms. The man took out of his vest pocket a golden key and proceeded to unlock the door and opened it to reveal a long stair case that led to the floor above the restaurant. The staircase was lit by beautiful antique hand blown glass globes that pulsed with the flames of natural gas and filaments. "We will be available if you need us," the attendant spoke as she stepped onto the stairway and he closed the door behind her.

At the top of the stairs she took off her coat and draped it across the banister and took in the view of the hidden treasure. She believed that even Peter did not know of this place. She has secretly moved them here more than a year before the events of the Carnival massacre and the sorrows that followed transpired. The room was filled with easel after easel , painting and painting. The complete collection of a master. A man that could see the future. A man that used paints to record what he saw. A man she had hated and despised at one point. But the treasure was her clue, her haven, her hope. If Isaac could paint what he saw, then maybe she could too.

She sat down before a easel, holding a bright white canvas and lifted a piece of black chalk. She closed her eyes and allowed herself to drift to the border of sleep and conscious thought. A place where her mind was drifting into the subconscious, but still retained awareness of the real world. She had to walk a tightrope between the two worlds. Her breathing slowed and her eyes flutter as she reached a almost REM trance like state. She had learned to do this in her teens, now decades ago so that she could dream, but still interact with her friends, teachers, and parents. The chalk touched the canvas as she began to draw what she saw.

X-X-X

The Man was lost in his thoughts as they walked slowly through the park. The sun was just cresting over the buildings and the birds in the trees were beginning to wake up and sing. He had to think. He had to move. The city was not safe after last night. Who had shot at them? Were the bullets meant for himself or the Cop? Either way they could no longer go back to the house. He had to find a new place they could hide: a new place where they could stay for a while. He was running low on the medicine. Without a regular dosage the pain would start again. Without the suppressant he would not live to help the girls grow into their abilities and learn to control them. He looked down at the young girl in the stroller. She was asleep with the last dosage of the drug he had stolen from the store last week. He had only a few hours before the coma like sleep would ware off and she would stir once more. She scared him. What she could do brought terror to his heart. She could kill them all if he did not find a solution. He had to keep the girls together, but separate at the same time. He had to keep one asleep and one awake. The world might come to a horrible end if they both were awake at the same time. He needed a lab. He needed equipment. He needed time to rest and develop a cure, or a serum that would help the girls control their powers. But those that chased him were relentless. As soon as he had found a place that they might have some level of success, they would find them again.

He had to get out of the city. It was not safe. He had to keep the girls from the monster that followed them. A morning jogger raced past them and pulled him from his reflections and back to the present. Prime-a-tech! He had to get there. It was the only hope these girls had, and it was the only hope this world had from the girls. Texas! He had to get there, but how?

"Grandfather! Papa!" the girl beside him walking at his side sung out as she pointed to a crowd of vendors and people in the center of the park. Hundreds of people milled around in the center of the Park, looking at paintings and art projects staged all over the area. Vendors that sold Ice Cream, fried foods, and Balloons were attracted to the art event like cockroaches to sugar water. "Can I have a balloon?" she asked as she looked up into his face beaming with her best "I have been a good girl" smile. The man turned to the little girl and placed a gentle hand on her golden hair. Her pink bow held most of her hair out of her face, but as most six year old girls, she had more hair than face. "Well..." He spoke softly to her as a running figure in the park caught the corner of his eye.

He turned and saw a woman running toward them. Her face was fixed on his own. She was determined to catch them, to detain them, to stop them. "Not here! Not now!" he gasped, "how did she find us?" as he grabbed the little girl's hand and pushed his way into the crowd. He had to get away. "Run my girl! Run!" he yelled as they broke into a sprint through the crowd of people and dashed their way into the mass of people to escape.

"What's wrong? Why are we running Papa!" the little girl gasped as she struggled to keep up.

"We have to hide, quickly! This way!" the man yelled as he turned the stroller down a side path into a grove of tall trees.

"Stop! Please, I just want to talk to you!" a voice behind them shouted out. That voice, he thought he would never hear that voice again. It brought chills down his spine. "Please wait!" the voice of the woman behind him called out once more. She was dead! She had died in the fire. The man turned the stroller off the path and the front wheel caught on the edge of the grass and the man, stroller, and child within tumbled down the icy grass hill.

The woman stopped at the top of the hill; beside her stood a little girl, her pink bow now fallen out of her hair, and wind tossed her golden locks wildly about her face. She looked at the woman is fear and wonder, like she was frozen in place by a ghost from her past.

"Run! Esmeralda Run! I will find you!" the man shouted as he scooped up the limp body of her sister and drew his gun. He fired as people screamed.

X-X-X

Tracy ducked by reflex as the man before her opened fire. Bullets hit the light posts around her and glass exploded in all directions. Women and children screamed and ran between her and the man, as a vendor beside her lost hold of his balloons. The balloons enveloped her and the strings tugged at her arms and face. She batted away at the balloons to get free. The child! The girl he had called her Esmeralda! She looked to her left and the child was gone, lost in the sea of screaming and running people. The balloons cleared as she freed herself from the last of the restricting strings, but the man was gone.

Tracy walked slowly down the hill with confusion on her face. The stroller lay on its side at the bottom the hill, but the man and other child were gone.

X-X-X

Claire Bennet stood on the sidewalk looking around the neighborhood. She folded her map that she had used to arrive in the location. The house before her had been circled on the map by Molly late last night after Tracy and the other adults had gone to bed. She was worried. What kind of power could rip through the distance and could hurt Molly so deeply. She needed to protect her. If she was to be a big sister to the young teenager then she would need to help as best she could. She was frustrated that her Dad was having to work an all-nighter with the City police. It should be him looking into this, maybe with her at his side.

The house looked abandoned and run down. Several homes on either side of the small house also looked like they were ravaged by vandals. The house before her was roped off from access by a Police band of yellow caution tape. Bullet holes riddled the front of the house, the porch, and stairs leading to the front door. The front window was shattered and boarded up with a crude attempt at public safety; and the front door stood open hanging on only one hinge.

Something happened here recently. She looked around and could see a patrol car in the parked across the street, but no officers was in sight. Cautiously she lifted the police barrier tape and stepped up on the porch. The wood of the deck groaned loudly as her weight settled upon its surface, "I don't weigh that much!" Claire chastised the groans as she made her way to the open door. The house inside was dark and gloomy. The paint on the walls was flaking off and the wallpaper in most areas was curled and pulling away from the surface of the wall.

There was no furniture in the house except a single recliner chair positioned in the center of the room, facing a door that led down to a lower basement. Claire felt a feeling of foreboding crawl across her heart as she stepped down onto the stairway leading to the basement. She could see a flashlight beam moving over the walls as she silently made her way down the stairs. A person dressed in all dark clothing was squatted down over some bedding on the floor. A person that obviously was not a police officer, of the lights would be on. Whomever this was, Claire's alarm bells of warning rang in her head. Whomever this was her father would want to know about it. So with silent hands she slipped her cell phone out of her rear pocket and with the back light off, lifted it toward the person and with skills practice touch the picture button, as the camera made a loud "click"

"Snot!" Claire gasped in despair.

The person spun on its feet at the sound and suddenly she was revealed in a bath of white light. There was a click as the room went dark and the the person turned off the flashlight. Claire could hear rushing feet and then hands grabbing her by the blouse. Fists flew into her face one after another as the attacker then threw her across the room. She tried to block the blows, but she could not see them coming. The person's hands were just too fast. There was another rush of feet and a boot landed solidly in Claire's stomach and all her breath left her in one single gasp. She could not speak, she could not tell the person she was not the enemy. She tasted blood in her mouth.

Rough hands lifted her off the floor and smashed her against the stair railing and she could feel the railing crack under her body. Claire screamed out in pain as a spindle of wood pierced through her back and out her stomach. Blood splattered over the attacker and Claire as she tried to free herself. She felt like a hot iron had been stabbed through her body. She could hear feet running up the stairs and beyond as she screamed in anger and pulled herself free from the wooded spindle. Something was wrong, so much blood, so much pain, why? What? The room began to spin as every muscle and bruise burned. Her eyes glossed over as she pulled herself one stair at a time to the main room floor.

She was not healing yet? Something was wrong. The pain was so much. Her brain swooned under the blood loss and injuries as she drug herself out of the basement and onto the main floor of the house, then she passed out.

X-X-X

Gabriel walked down the sidewalk through the financial district of New York City. He was heading back to his new shop enjoying a street vendors late breakfast of a hotdog wrapped in bagel dough. He had decided to try sour crout on his bagel-dog and had concluded the jury was still out on the taste. The morning was brisking along and foot traffic had been steady in his shop. He had several private showings setup of his higher end clients tomorrow afternoon. If the shop proved to be all it was starting out to be he might be able to start his own little empire of gears and levers in the City. It had only been one day, but it felt like a life time of suffering and challenges to reach this point. He had called Claire a few minutes ago and left a message on her phone to meet him at her apartment at 8 o'clock that night and that he had something very special to show her. He wanted to her to be so proud of him. Would she like the store? Would she think it beneath him? Would she want more out of life? Could she love a man that finally was at peace with having a little slice of gold in a angry world?

He stopped suddenly as a young girl came running around the corner of the building and slammed into him like a train. She was small but was moving fast. Her face was flushed from a long run. Tears streamed down her small face. Her blond hair was in a ratted mess that covered most of her delicate face. She looked up into his eyes and he could feel a lost soul looking at his own. She was afraid, she was running not to someone, but away. "Is everything alright little girl?" Gabriel asked as she brushed him aside and darted into the crowd and out of his sight; just as two men came around the corner in pursuit. They looked rough and sinister. Their faces brought worry to his heart. Something was wrong he told himself as the men hurried past him after the small girl, trying not to bring unneeded attention to their actions.

Gabriel turned and looked after the men into the crowd. Should he step in? Was it his place to take action? What if he was wrong, what if she was playing a game? What if she was just a disobedient child that was trying to run away? What if he stepped in and found he was on the wrong side? What would Peter do? What would Claire want him to do? He closed his eyes and thought of Claire. His image of her in his mind showed her standing before him, with one hand on her hip and the other outstretched pointing in the way the young girl had fled, "GO!" she yelled at him as his eyes opened with a start. He reached out with his hearing and could sense her heart rate.

He rushed through the crowds and turned down a dark alley to find the young girl now trapped in a far corner, as the two men approached from opposite sides, "Come here little girl. Would you like a piece of chocolate?" one man said as the other man circled around and tried to reach her from behind. Just as she turned her attentions on the man speaking to her the other man slipped his long arms around her waste and lifted her off the ground in a strong bear hug, "Got Cha!" the man spoke in a deep Brooklyn accent.

Gabriel lifted a hand to stop the men when the small girl let out and scream of terror that ripped to the core of his heart. The ground under their feet began to quake and role. The concrete groaned and cracked under the invisible power. Gabriel felt like a hand was reaching through his chest and grabbing his very heart. He clutched his chest and dropped to his knees; as his head pounded inside his skull. It felt like his head was in a vise. The men holding the girl dropped her and grabbed their heads as they too fell to the ground in agony. Their mouths opened in silent screams of pain as blood flowed from their eye sockets and ears. The very ground began to shimmer like heat wave off the desert sand as the brick walls of the buildings beside them began to liquify and drip like melted ice.

Gabriel felt something deep in his brain break and all went black in darkness as he collapsed to the burning ground. For a moment he laid still gathering his wits before he opened his eyes. With a deep breath he rolled over onto his hands and knees feeling like he had just run a marathon. He looked around the alley with blood shot eyes, the girl was gone. The two men looked still, not moving before him. He rested a finger on each man's neck, checking for a pulse; they were dead.

X-X-X

Noah Benett rubbed his eyes with the tips of his fingers as sat behind Sam Beckett's desk, "Rookie my bum!" he thought to himself as he finally was able to gather his files and head home. He was looking forward to the next 24hrs off before his next shift was to start. It was finally time to go home. He looked at his watch, it has been more than 24hrs since he had left the house. The sun was drifting late in the evening sky. He had had a few messages from Tracy but he had not be free to check them all. Once she had just called to tell him to hurry home, that she had something important to tell him.

He stood slowly to his feet as the hours of the day began to catch up to him and he felt tired.

His partner had left over an hour ago, leaving the paperwork filing to the "Rookie"; what a chump! He liked Sam and understood the friendly games he was playing to test the waters. He wanted to check if Noah really meant to do the job, or was just up to some mystery and this was an elaborate cover to reach an unknown goal.

He turned toward the lobby and the front doors as a hand reached out and grabbed his arm. The hand was wrapped in blood stained rags. The fingers that gripped his arm were heavily scared, with deep burn scars from a powerful fire. He looked toward the owner of the hand and a woman stood before him. She was hunched over like a woman advanced in age. She held a shawl over she shoulders with a second hand also covered in deep burn scars. Her hair which once must have been a golden blond was now a pail white, with only a hint of yellow, if the lighting was at the right angle. The right part of her scalp was devoid of hair as that part of her face and head was red and patched together with multiple skin graphs. Her face was twisted and burned beyond recognition of the beauty she once must have had. She spoke through raw and chapped lips in a dry and husky voice.

"Help me find my daughter!" She begged as she pushed a paper into his hands.

"She has been stolen from me!" she pleaded, "You must help me! No one else will."

Noah looked down at the paper in his hand, it was a picture of a small girl with a familiar pink ribbon in her hair. She looked through the image with eyes like open oceans. He knew this face. He knew this girl. "How?" He asked out loud, but received no answer. He looked around but the woman was gone. He looked back at the picture pondering what had just happened when his phone rang, it was Claire.

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

*****PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK*****

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	5. Chapter 5

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix****  
****Chapter five- Ain't that a kick in the pants  
**

* * *

Gabriel Gray opened his eyes with a groan while every fiber of his body screamed out with pain and alarm. He must have passed out again. His mind was clouded and slow and his mouth was stale and clammy to the taste as he stretched his hands out cautiously across the pavement and lifted himself off the ground, in a foggy haze. How long had he been out? How long since that little girl had..What had she done to him? Who was she? Was that the girl Molly had connected to the other night, or was this a new special that they did not know about? He needed more information before he reported back to Peter and the others. Why did it hurt so much? He wondered as he sat back heavily on the ground and held his head in his hands. His head was spinning and his ears rang with a high pitch squeal, making his head hurt with a thrumming pressure. The sun had risen further into the morning sky and was just peaking over the roof tops into the alleyway. He must have been out for more than 30 minutes. He squinted his eyes against the morning light and scanned the area around him.

The remains of two men scorched the pavement in death just a few feet away from him. The men that had been chasing the little girl, their bodies burned to ash and bones. Their remains were curled into fetal positions, surrounded by blackened red blood that stained the pavement beneath them. Their skulls were twisted on their spines in a silent scream of agony with cold dead hands of bone pressed against their temples from the siring pain that the little girl had projected at them. The walls in all directions looked like water frozen in mid-motion; like the brick buildings had melted under an incredible heat, and then re-solidified as they cooled. The pavement still was hot to the touch and a white mist of heat shimmers lifted into the morning air from its once boiling surface. The remains of the dead men were mostly ash and bones with little flesh remaining, which was covered in heat blisters, boils, and open sores. The flesh still pulsated with heat as new blisters and boils burst, releasing a toxic and putrid smell.

He dug into his pocket for his cell phone, but pulled out a twisted square of melted plastic and glass. He had to get out of here, he had to leave; the police would be here soon. It amazed him that they had not already arrived, or someone had not already found them in such a city as this. It would be best to be far from here when the boys in blue arrived. He considered briefly, calling Noah. Now that Noah was a detective with the New York City police department He should be the one to investigate and find out who the little girl was, and who those men had been. That would be the right thing to do. That would be what he should do. Who was that little girl? He had to discover who she was. What incredible power she had. It made his mouth salivate as deep down in the bowels of his soul a dark passion boiled. The power that young girl had was like a god! As he thought about what he could do with such a power as hers; his breath came in shorter breaths, and his heart rate began to accelerate, forcing his blood pulsing through his veins like a raging bull. He needed to find that little girl. He needed to know how she worked. He needed to understand, replicate, devour, engulf..."NO! NO! NO!" He called out load to himself.

Gabriel clenched his eyes shut to envision HIS Claire. Her smile, her skin, her face, her golden hair touching his cheek. Her breath that tickled the small hairs on his neck when she whispered something in his ear that she did not want her father to hear. His Claire, he liked the sound of those words in his mind. He shifted his thoughts to little Noah with his hand holding his own. His head resting on his chest in sleep; his face shining in joy at Christmas. He was not a monster any more. The inner demons were long since subdued, under control, shackled and imprisoned never to escape again! He would never allow that demon to rage. He shoved the shouts for blood, for infinite power back deep into his soul and struggled to his feet; by holding onto the building wall beside him. He started to feel better once he was standing again and on his feet. He paused as he looked at the man-hole cover near the end of the alleyway. The little girl had been standing near it, and now it was open. The heavy cover had been pulled away from the access hole to the sewers under the city, and he could hear the flowing of the murky waters below. Had she gone down there? She was such a little thing, very dangerous, but so little. She had been so scared when she ran past him. He squatted to his heels to look into the darkness of the sewer access hole. Was she lost? Did she know where she was going? Was she all alone? Was there someone to protect her, to save her?

His mind jumped suddenly at the thought, "What would Peter do?"

The sound of a pebble being ground by the sole of a shoe caught his attention and with lightening reflexes he turned as a booted foot struck him across the side of the face with shocking power. With the momentum of the blow, he was forced against the brick wall beside him and felt his skull bounce of the hard surface with a resounding thump. Pain crumbled him to the ground as he struggled to retain full consciousness. A blurry figure stood over him as he balanced on his hands and knees; and kicked him once more, hard into the lower ribs. Gabriel rolled away from the attacker, his breathing wheezed in siring painful gasps, and the taste of blood coated his mouth. Once more the attacker lunged at him. A fist covered in a black glove smashed against his jaw sending him once more to the hard pavement. Another fist punched him in the center of his back, just below the shoulder blades. A boot swung in a crushed against his ear and he could feel his jaw bone grind under the power of the blow.

He had to fight! Why did it hurt so much? Why was he not healing? Gabriel rolled onto his back as the attacker jumped into the air and came down on his face with a large steal plated boot to crack his jaw. By reflex and instinct he covered his head with one arm and with the other swept his hand out with blind desperation and grabbed the assailant's ankle, with all his strength. With a roar of pain in his head and flashing lights pulsating across his vision, he turned on his back and wrapped his long legs around the body of the assailant. Clenching with all the power of his legs, and his hand still holding the attackers ankle now in an iron grip, he lifted the attacker off the pavement and swung the assailant head first into the brick wall of the building beside him.

The attacker spun in his grip and grabbed Gabriel's belt with both hands, pulling Gabriel off the ground with his own strength. With incredible flexibility the attacker drew a blade and with a thud that shook the wall of the building behind them, the two of them crashed against the melted bricks. Gabriel felt a piercing stab of fire, dig deep through his heart as the blade sunk more than half way into his flesh. With his eyes open wide in wonder he sunk back to the pavement breathing with short gasps of air. Coldness crept over his body as the assailant regained their freedom and with a great jump in the air swung their rear foot about with the force of a small car, and struck the hilt of the knife in his chest with a steel plated Boot, shoving the blade into his heart and the tip piercing its way into his spine. He was not healing, he was not able to move! Was he dying! He shouted to himself in his mind as his body fell to the pavement partially covering the open man-hole.

The attacker calmly knelt down on one knee and looked Gabriel in the face. The attacker's features were disguised with a cloth mask that covered the face, leaving only bright blue eyes to glare into his in his own eyes in the last moments of life. The Sunlight from the late morning made the attackers silhouette radiate with a golden hallow affect. Gabriel could hear police sirens in the distance while the attacker stood once more and placed a hard foot in his gut. He vision blurred as the blood in his veins lost their life giving essence, and his body shut down from the knife in his heart. The attacker was small, the silhouette of the sun revealed the attacker to be female. She grunted a sound of satisfaction as she shoved her foot down into his body with quick force, sending him into the sewers below and the darkness of death.

The last moments of consciousness faded as his eyes closed. The last thing he saw, now etched in mind and heart. The attacker wore a bracelet that had a symbol on it that was familiar but just out of his grasp of the memory.

X-X-X

Tracy Bennet raced up the street to her apartment building as emergency vehicles converged on her building, with the squeal of tires and Emergency Medical personal jumping out of their trucks and gathering their gear. What was going on? She wondered while she raced through the lobby of the apartment building to the elevator and jabbed at the call button on the wall. A Policeman and several emergency medical personnel poured through the front doors and made their way to the service elevator beside the reception desk, pushing a gurney and moving fast. "911 call from the 5th floor!" a tall police officer shouted to the receptionist as the elevator doors opened and the group pushed their gurney and gear into the car before the doors closed.

5th floor! That was her floor! My Children? Molly! Tracy glanced st the elevator doors beside her, they were taking too long! She turned in a blast of speed and raced through the door to the stairs and took two steps at a time as she hurried up the flights between floors. She had to make it in time! She broke out in a sweat as she ran faster and faster. She grabbed hold of the railing beside her and used it to pull herself even faster. Her legs were burning as she passed the third floor placarded. The elevator would have taken too long, she needed to get upstairs. Her heart pounded in her chest as she raced faster and faster, now passing the 4th floor landing. She could have made it in seconds through the buildings water pipes. The pipes even ran the height of the building on the wall beside her in the stairwell painted red; but if the EMTs staff were in her apartment as she re-solidified after pouring through the kitchen faucet? That would not be a good thing; Noah would never let her hear the end of it! With one more bound she made it to her floor and burst through the door into her hallway.

Her apartment door was opened and neighbors were all at their doors, and standing in the hallway looking toward her apartment with concern on their faces. Children and adults looked on with wonder and concern as she raced through them, dodging as she ran; left and right like a gazelle. One of her neighbors, a small woman that always seemed to be in curlers and a blue bathrobe called out to Tracy as she raced down the hallway, weaving through the human obstacle course, "Is everything alright my dear?" She called out to Tracy, secretly hoping that she and her family would move out soon and her floor would be quiet once more.

The apartment was alive with trauma as she came through the door. Molly was on the floor, her eyes were rolled back into her head and she was flopping about on the floor in a Grand Mall seizure. Her face was red and flushed as she groaned and cried out in pain. Beside her body there were groves dug into the hard wood floor. Her fingertips revealed what had happened by their bloody stubs and missing fingernails. Her arms and hands were flying wildly about as she screamed in agony. The police officer placed his hands on Tracy's shoulders and tried to stop her as she pushed her way past the crew and into her apartment, "You need to stay outside ma'am! Please stay outside!"

"That is my Child!" Tracy shouted into the man's face and with a swift shove brushed his hands away and was at Molly's side.

"I need a shot of benzodiazepine." The lead EMT ordered his assistant as he tried to hold down one of Molly's arm long enough to slip a piece of cardboard into her mouth. She had already bit her tongue and Tracy could see blood in her mouth. The EMT loosened Molly's top button of her new Christmas blouse, now sprinkled with drops of bright red blood. He held her head in gentle hands and looked into her eyes, now white with agony. Her skin was hot to the touch. She was on fire with a fever. She was covered in sweat and one shoe had fallen off, having been thrown across the room with the convulsions of her body; revealing her toes curled back under her feet in pain.

"Are you the mother?" the man asked.

"Yes, she is mine!" Tracy cried out with motherly pain and worry dripping thick in her voice, "Is she going to be okay?"

"We are not sure just yet Ma'am." The man rattled off as he worked over the young teen, "We are going to transport her to First General once we get her stable. You can ride along, or follow afterward if you would like."

"I'm sorry Aunt Tracy!" Hiro said from behind her.

Tracy turned her head and wrapped her arms around the man she knew once as an adult and now loved as a child. "I didn't know what else to do!" He looked at Molly with worry and fear in his eyes. She was his best friend, his whole world. They had been through so much together. He could not fathom his life with her not in it. She was a closer friend than even Ando. Her smile did something to him deep inside that he could not explain, and could not live without.

The EMT administered the dosage of benzodiazepine and Molly slumped down unto the floor as if dead, like a balloon that had just been pierced with a needle. Her breathing was labored, and her eyes stared off blankly into space. Her skin cooled to quickly to ghastly temperature and faded to a ghostly pale white. "Her heart is fluttering. I am loosing her! We can't wait We need to get her to the truck below."

The Policeman at the door cleared the way of the spectators as the medical team gathered their gear to exit quickly, "Make way, we need a path! You there, Ya, You mister...call the elevator NOW!" Tracy could hear him command.

"Let's go people!" the man ordered as they lifted Molly's small body off the floor and strapped her to the gurney. "Let's save this little girl's life! TODAY!" Tracy held onto Molly's limp and cold hand as her heart sunk to her stomach. "Come on Baby! We have been worse than this! Stay with me please!" she heard herself talking to Molly in a detached way that made her feel like she was watching a late night television drama instead this really happening to her little girl that brought so much joy and brightness to her life.

Tracy rushed out the door with the emergency crew, desperately clinging to Molly's hand, as she shouted back to Hiro, "Call Noah, tell him what happened! Hiro...find Peter! Hiro, please I am counting on you!"

X-X-X

Suddenly it was quiet in the apartment; Hiro stood alone staring at the open door. Molly! There was a deep fear in the pit of his stomach that made his spine shiver in fear. He had faced Ancient Samurai warriors. He had faced Sylar in all his glory, Adam with his silver tongue, and his Great Nemesis Daphne Millbrook who could run faster than he could see. He helped to destroy the greatest villain in all of history, but now his feet did not want to move. He needed to act, he needed to save Molly; but his feet were frozen to the floor in fear.

It was time for Hiro to be the Hero! Where to find Peter? He thought as he forced himself past his fear and closed the apartment door before him, and locked it from the inside; then he vanished with a haunting feeling like he was forgetting something!

X-X-X

The Man settled the little girl down onto a bed of rags and old newspaper, deep under the city in the sewers that ran beneath the buildings, apartments, shops and streets high above. A single utility light provided a meager glow across the small space he had found at the far end of a service tunnel. The yellowish glow made the little girl's skin have a washed out and sickly color to it as she slept away in her forced coma like state. She was so beautiful when she slept, so peaceful, so much like her mother. Her golden hair spilled out over the rags and bed coverings like a princess waiting for her prince charming to come and save her. One kiss of true love would make all the pain and sorrow vanish and they would all live happily ever after.

His heart was wrecked with worry. It had been hours since they had been separated from Esmeralda at the park. She was just a little girl. He had to find her, and quick. Digging into his pocket the Man pulled out a small flashlight and examined the floor of the sewer tunnel for anything he could use to make the child more comfortable. The side tunnel was dry and no bugs or rats, thank the Lord of heaven, no rats! Near the entrance he found another blanket that looked warm and thick. He scurried back to his charge and covered her small body and tucked her in tight.

He had to find Esmeralda; she was loose in the city, with her powers anything could happen. She could be killed, hurt, captured, anything! His watched showed he had little more than 3 hours before the medication began to ware off and Bethany would awake. He had to find her sister and secure more drugs, before that time ran out. He pulled out a large piece of chalk from his pocket and scrawled on the tunnel wall so that Bethany could see if she woke up early, "Be right back - stay here!" and then on his hands and knees made his way back out of the tunnel. How could he leave her? How could he trust she would remain asleep until he returned? He had no choice he told himself. He had to risk her safety and the lives of everyone in New York City, to save Esmeralda's life.

At the end of the tunnel he pushed closed a heavy rolling door. The wheels of the door long since rusting solid and no longer turned. No one would think to enter the tunnel, with the door closed and chained, he thought to himself as his clicked a small pad lock through the links of a long chain, securing the door closed, and locked. Suddenly his watch started beeping and vibrating on his wrist. The screen lit up and a small blue blip blinked a few times at the far edge of the screen and then stopped. She was close! For his tracking receiver to pick up her signal she had to be within 3 miles and underground as well. With eager resolve he trudged off into the flowing waters and twisting muck in search of his little girl.

He had to find her before they did!

He had to find Esmeralda before she killed someone.

X-X-X

Peter sat behind his desk with his fingers steeped together in thought and attention as the Private detective took a seat across from him. He had used the detective agency many times over the last hundred years or so and trusted the men they sent out. They were always clean cut, dressed nicely and all business. The man settled into a soft chair in front of Peter's desk and smiled an open and welcoming grin that should have set the tone of the room at ease. Peter's face did not move. His eyes bore into the man's soul. He did not like what he had found out. The man had done his job; he would be paid and paid generously. But Peter was not in a good mood. "Is there any more?" he asked as he tapped the manila folder in the center of his desk.

The detective shook his head slowly from side to side, "No sir, I have included all my findings in my report."

Peter stood to his feet and leaned against the windowsill. "She is a true mystery. All her records, birth certificate, social security number forged, her true identity we do not know just yet. They are all fabricated. It was a very professional job Mr. Petrelli," The detective spoke with a little admiration in his voice. "Whoever created this new identity for her went to great lengths, sparing no expense. And they did a great job. It was difficult but not impossible to follow the bread crumbs. They were good, just not better than us. At this point we do not know who she really is, we can only tell you who she is not. The orphanage records we traced her too in Phoenix, Arizona, shows she was was abandoned on their stoop at six years old. No record of her parents, or siblings. She left the orphanage at 15 years old. She ran away and they had not heard from her since, until I showed up asking questions."

"It appears she graduated from a small high school in up state New York State under the identity she has now, I noted the school's name and contact information in my report. And she recently graduated from Texas university. She paid her way through college, all cash by living with a nice family there working as a nanny. I spoke with the family and they only have glowing reports on her character and honesty. They said she never had visitors, calls, or family to speak of."

Peter was silent and made no effort to move or reply as the detective sat there politely. The large clock on the wall ticked away the moments of time lost in thought. He adjusted his tie and jacket as he waited. He had been warned about this Mr. Petreli, he was a old and very valuable client. He had been threatened with a painful death if he upset the man.

Somehow he thought the man would be much older, due to the age of the account with the office. Must be a family account he thought to himself.

"Shall I see myself out, Mr. Peterlli?" the detective asked as he gathered his things and made a step toward the door.

"Yes, yes Detective. Thank you. I apologize for being so distant...please inform the Main Office that I would like to retain your services until further notice." Peter spoke over his shoulder as he continued to stare out the window. "I would like you to follow her. I need to know everything about her."

"You got it! I will contact the office on my way out. She should be still at the clinic, if not I will pick up her trail there." The detective stated as he made his way out the door and past the Administrative Assistants desk outside of Peter's office that stood empty. This was a twist, a mystery. He needed to know more, who was she?

"Who are you?" Peter asked of himself as he filed the folder the detective provided in his cabinet drawer under M for Melody.

"Peter!" Hiro shouted as he suddenly appeared. "You have to come quickly! Molly is in trouble!"

X-X-X

Noah Bennet and Claire strolled out of the elevator deep in conversation, "Next time you go exploring and looking for me, call first and never go out alone. Whoever this attacker was they are dangerous. What if you have not regenerated? What if you had died out there? Tracy and your Grandmother would kill me."

Claire laughed, "Not to mention what Gabriel would do."

Noah shrugged his shoulders, "I can handle him."

Claire dug into her pocket and took out her house key and slid the key into the lock. "It was definitely a trained operative. whomever it was hit me hard, and faster than I could react. I felt like there were three people pounding on me, and it was only one."

"I will need to discuss with Peter the fact that you did not healing right away." Noah continued the conversation, in hushed tones as Claire turned the lock and pushed the apartment door open. "If there is another special out there, I wonder why Molly did not feel them?"

"I thought I was going to die!" Claire whispered as she stepped through the door and set her bag of groceries on the table, "I can't stay; Gabriel called earlier this morning and left a message. I have been trying to reach him all morning, and he is not answering or returning my calls."

Noah stopped Claire and with fatherly love of a relieved heart, he drew her into his embrace and buried her into his arms and hug. She reached her small arms around his waist and squeezed tight, as Noah rest his chin on the top of her golden hair. "Did I tell you how much I love you? Next time call for backup. I couldn't think of what I would do if I lost you."

"I can," Claire pulled herself away from their shared moment of tenderness, "and I would not want to be them when you do what I know you will do to them." Noah grunted with just a hint of a growl, as they turned to the apartment.

It was a mess. Furniture was pushed aside from the middle of the mail room floor. Noah knelt down and dabbed his index finger into a fresh drop of blood, one of dozens that covered the hardwood floor. Six long grooves all parallel, dug through the surface of the wood floor and blood stained finger nails scattered about told him what had happened.

"Claire, back out into the hallway please..." Noah whispered as he drew his gun. "Keep an eye open for visitors."

Suddenly Hiro appeared in the doorway of the apartment between Claire and Noah, "Noah! I found You. I have been looking for you all over."

"Come with me quickly. Molly is hurt, she is at the hospital, and she needs you. Please come now!" Hiro blurted out on a jumble of hurried words.

Noah and Claire rushed to the door as Noah tossed Claire his car keys, "I will find Gabriel and call you." Claire hurried to the elevator and jabbed at the call button, "now GO! I'll find you later." Claire ordered as she stepped into the elevator car and the doors closed.

"Alright Hiro, take me to Molly. Is Tracy there already?" Noah asked as he rested his hand on Hiro's shoulder. "yes! Peter too!" and they vanished.

X-X-X

Noah Junior, now nick named NJ opened his eyes and stretched his small arms wide in a lazy yawn. He had been playing hide and seek but the others had not found him yet. He found the perfect hiding place at the back of Molly's closet and with the warmth and excitement of the morning had fallen deep asleep. He was hungry, and wanted some juice. He was tired of this game. Hiro and Molly did not play it right, they were taking too long.

Arching his back and opening his mouth wide in another giant yawn, NJ walked out of Molly's bedroom and into the kitchen area of the apartment. Where was mommy? Where was Molly? Where was Hiro? He was thirsty, he wanted some juice.

He walked up to the refrigerator and pulled a chair over to the door. He was a big boy! He would get his own juice. He climbed up onto the chair and then onto the counter. He knew where the cups where, as he pulled open a cupboard door and grabbed a spider-man cup. He wanted his Superman cup, but he could not find it. He climbed back to the floor and pushed the chair over to the refrigerator door and bumped up against its side as he came to a stop. He climbed up into the chair and was no able to reach the door handle. With a great pull the door swung open and a container of grape juice fell to the floor and burst open.

Quickly he jumped to the floor and picked up the juice container in his two small hands and carefully poured himself a cup of juice, spilling more on the floor than what made it in the cup. He looked at the floor and saw the grape juice puddle stretching across the tiles, "Mommy!" he called out. He needed help to clean up his mess. He was going to get in so much trouble! He lifted his cup to his mouth to take a drink, "why was the front door open?" he thought. Was Mommy out there?

He peered around the door jamb into the hallway as he heard a door close, where was everyone? He looked toward the elevator. He loved elevators; the feeling in his stomach as it rushed up and down excited him. The doors were closing! Maybe they were leaving without him! "Mommy!" he shouted as he rushed across the hallway and into the elevator just before the doors closed.

X-X-X

"We are sorry to summon you so urgently, but we know how much Mrs. Petrelli demands her privacy" The Maitre d' spoke through clenched lips as Alfred and he hurried through the busy small restaurant toward the rear of the store. "She was explicit in her instructions. If there ever was a time she did not answer our calls we were to contact you Sir, and no one else; before we opened the door."

"Thank you, my friend." Alfred nodded his head in understanding as the man beside him unlocked a door that revealed a hidden stairwell to the apartments above the restaurant. Nineteen Century natural Gas lights lit the way as they ascended the stairs. Alfred reached the top of the stairs first and with a start of worry, rushed to Angela's side.

Angela Petreli lay face down on the floor. She was covered in many colors of chalk and paint. Her face was smeared and smudged. Her hair hung across her face drenched in sweat. The room was filled with picture after picture mounted on easels and too the walls. Angela's hand was curled around a thick piece of black chalk as she slowly scratched at the solid wood floor. Covering the floor was mural surround her picturing two large blue eyes, set in a sea of blackness. Reaching out of the darkness was a pale white hand, its fingers reaching from the darkness to grab at an unknown object. Around the wrist of the hand was bracelet that reflected in a animated moon light. A symbol was on the jewelry that he was personally very familiar with.

Alfred pried the chalk out of Angela's fingers and gathered her into his arms, lifting her off the floor and steered her toward a couch near the window. "Please bring me some smelling salts, and cup of strong tea." Alfred ordered, dismissing the Maitre d' back down the stairs as he settled her on to the couch.

Suddenly Angela grabbed his jacket with eyes looking into a reality he could not see, "She is coming! We are all doomed. New York is on fire! All is lost, the Phoenix is rising!"

X-X-X

Gabriel screamed as a hot burning fire dug through his chest. It felt like someone was pulling his heart out of his chest through a straw. His mouth opened and he could hear his own screams and shouts of pain, but could not move to prevent the pain. His arms and legs were numb and felt heavy and held down by a great weight. His back was arched against a cement floor, while his legs remained in the sewer waters and moved freely with the current of the moving waste. His eyes opened and suddenly his lungs worked as the incredible pain stopped. With a lung he sat up as his arms and body once more came alive. His screams of pain and agony echoed through the sewer tunnels as his hand clamped upon his chest where the knife used to be.

He looked around in the darkness; as a small girl stepped out of the darkness and stood beside him holding the large knife in her trembling hands. His blood dripping from its blade and staining the concrete. She was covered in grim and mud. Her once blond hair was now caked with sewer waste and mud. Her face was scratched and bloody. Her blue eyes were wide with fear and wonder. Her clothes were soaking wet, from the sewer waste. Had she drug him out of the waters all by herself?

She reached out to him with a small white hand and touched his chest where the knife used to be. Her mouth opened and her spoke in a small trembling voice, "My name is Esmeralda what is yours?" as she focused her attention on his healed wound.

Gabriel, looked at the little girl and then back at his chest, He was healed. The wound was closed up and he was no longer dead. "I am Gabriel."

She pushed the knife at him with both hands, touching the tip of the blade at the exact spot she had removed it...and whispered, "Are you an angel?"

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

*****PLEASE WRITE A REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK*****

*****YOUR REVIEWS ARE IMPORTANT TO ME*****


	6. Chapter 6

**Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix****  
****Chapter six - Angels and Demons  
**

* * *

Peter Petrelli stood off to the side of the door to the hospital room, in a private conference with Noah and Hiro while the Doctors and attendants worked over Molly in a desperate hurry. They had been working over her for the last hour or more and she still was not responding to any stimulation or medication. Her heart rate was dipping lower and lower, by the minute and her coloring was fading into a milky pale white, that made the few freckles on the bridge of her nose stand out like blood droplets on fresh fallen snow. Her hair was spread out about her face on the pillow dripping in perspiration. Her breathing came in short gasps that arched her back in pain as she tried hard to fill her lungs with air. Her eyes were withdrawn and glazed as she drifted in and out of consciousness.

Peter had summoned through his connections and wealth, the Hospital's entire senior medical staff to attend to his young mistress. He had made it clear to the hospital executives that money was no object. They had to save her! They were to spare no expense. Deep inside he was worried. His face remained stoic and guarded, but he was worried. His healing ability had had no effect on her ailments. Whatever was hurting her was not physical. Whatever had her in its terrifying grip was not tied to the mortal body of the small girl that the staff worked over. This attack was stronger and more intense that the last one. The first attack of the other day, had frightened them greatly, but it was mild compared to this attack. It had not lasted long, and he had been able to heal her body quickly. But this attack was lingering for hours, and he felt helpless; a feeling he dreaded with every ounce of his being. The Doctors had medicated her with the strongest sedatives the hospital could administer to lower her brain activity just below the conscious state or REM sleep. "I would induce a coma, but with her heart rate as erratic as it is, I am not confident she would survive the further sedation." The Doctor had whispered to Peter just a few minutes before.

One by one the Doctors assembled at the foot of the bed, and summoned Peter to join them. They did not have positive expressions on their faces.

Peter and Noah stepped up to the small group of specialists, as the doctors waited for them to join the assembly. "I am sorry Mr. Bennet and Mr. Petrelli. We have tried everything we dare. Her condition is not responding or improving with the medications. We have not been able to ascertain the physical cause of her dilemma, as of yet; but we are still waiting on the labs for the results of the latest blood tests, and the MRI." The Chief of Medicine for the Hospital spoke solemnly.

Noah spoke up with worry in his voice, "There must be something you can do! Her little body can't take much more."

Peter silently placed a hand of encouragement on Noah's shoulder as the Doctor cleared his throat, "We have all agreed we have limited options at this point. Something is attacking her mental synapses. If you look at the EKG, her brain waves are off the charts, even with the induced REM levels. We need to restrict the blood flow to the brain; it is our only sure way of cooling down her activity. She is like a small Volkswagen Beetle trying to compete in the Indy 500. Her mind is going to burn up if we do not act soon.

Peter spoke with calmness in his voice that helped Noah's pain, "What do you suggest?"

"We need to lower her core body temperature. This will cause her heart to slow, and restrict the flow of blood to the brain. By restricting the blood flow, the brain will go into a form of hibernation that will allow her to rest and heal naturally. Our hope is that whatever is causing the massive fluctuations of brain activity will then subside."

"You want to freeze her brain?" Hiro shouted out as the room became deathly cold.

"Children have been known to survive for hours under water, in sub-zero temperatures." The Doctor continued. "I know it's a risk, but if this is successful her brain will shut down and reboot, like a computer. We can then slowly bring her body temp up in small increments until she regains cogent functionality. If we don't, her brain will burn out in the next 30 minutes, there will be then permanent brain damage that cannot be avoided. We are in uncharted territory here, Mr. Petrelli."

X-X-X

Tracy adjusted her hand in Molly's grip as she glared at the medical staff talking in whispers near her husband and Peter. She had not let go from the time they left the apartment until now. Her hand was cramping, but she was determined to remain at Molly's side. She wanted it to be her face that Molly saw first when she finally opened her eyes. She sat in a low chair, which Noah had found for her and had been resting her face on the pillow beside the small girl. Their faces were just touching, allowing for a close connection. She hoped that the warmth of her body would reach into the cold of Molly's physical prison and give her hope. Now deep inside Tracy's heart burned with rage. Her little girl was suffering and she knew it had something to do with the man in the park and the children.

Somehow Molly was linked to one or both of them and through this link; she was dying from the inside out. Somehow Molly could not disconnect from these new specials like she could with the others. She had said years before there had been a Man who could reach back into her mind and hurt her, if she located him through her ability. She had called him the Bogy-man. Eventually they had discovered who the bogy-man was. It had been Matt Parkman's father and one of the founding members of the Company that Noah had worked for. His mental abilities had only been matched and eventually surpassed by his son. Only Matt had been able to defeat his father and save Molly from his reign of terror. She needed someone strong like Matt: someone that could reach into the realities of the mind and save her baby. She could barely stand it here. Every inch of her flesh was creeping and crawling with energy. She wanted to be on the hunt. She wanted to find the person responsible. She wanted to protect her child. This was her little girl, and she was helpless to do anything to save her!

"Are you sure this procedure help her?" Tracy asked the Doctors in a soft but powerful voice that thinly disguised her worry, and the increasing rage she barely held under control. She did not trust the doctors, but she trusted Peter with all she was. Peter was her Zeus, her Messiah, her Hercules and Samson all rolled into one. She trusted Noah! He would never rest until Molly was safe. He would move heaven and earth, to protect his own. They would never let anything happen to Molly. She trusted them. Noah would erase anyone that would try to intentionally harm his girls. And Peter, she shuttered as a cold gust of reality blew through her mind, and Peter? She looked into his eyes. She would never want Peter to be that mad. She took a deep breath and asked once more, "Peter, will this save her?"

Peter stepped up to Tracy and placed his hand over hers that held Molly's small hand, "She is linked to someone we know nothing about. Her attacks are getting worse, and she is slipping deeper into the darkness with each attack. If we do nothing she will die before the hour is up."

Tracy's eyes filled with tears of pain and worry as her free hand covered her own heart, which felt like it was going to stop all on its own, "Peter, she can't survive it! Look at her! She will break under the stress."

"It is the only way, otherwise she will die and I will not be able to bring her back." Peter whispered as a he felt her pain, and a single tear rolled down his face.

"NJ!" Tracy stated with a startled look on her face. "NJ could turn her powers off, and then back on when she has had time to recover."

Peter nodded his head in agreement. Why had he not thought of that as well? The little boy could save Molly's life with just a simple turn of a mental switch, "Yes that might work. It would only be temporary, just long enough for her to rest. We need her ability to track these specials. We need to find them."

"Yes, I would like a few words with them, myself..." Tracy mumbled under her breath, as the room about them lowered in temperature by several degrees.

"Hiro," Tracy asked as they all turned to the young man "Where is NJ"

X-X-X

Gabriel sat in the darkness of the sewer system deep below the streets of New York City and calmly smiled back at the little girl that stood before him so bravely, holding a large knife to his chest. She trembled in barely controlled fear as streams of tears made their course down her cheeks through the dirt, mud, and sewer grime. "Are you an Angel?" she asked him as she dropped the knife point towards the concrete floor they sat on. His smile vanished as his body began to glow. A White halo of energy encapsulated his body and slowly he lifted off the cement floor and floated in mid-air. Lightening and energy crackled and danced across his skin and face, as the tunnel they were in lit up like the afternoon sky. The walls about them reflected and refracted with the water and light in a cool white that made the little girls eyes grow large in wonder and hope.

The little girl spun around on her toes as she spread her arms out wide in overwhelming joy; dropping the knife from her small hands to the floor with a clang of steel against cement that resounded along the stone walls. The white energy crackled across his fingers and struck the concrete walls in all directions. With a small adjustment of effort, Gabriel relaxed his concentration and the energy arcing through the air changed colors and made rainbows of red, green, and bright blue in the dark caverns of the tunnel below New York City. Esmeralda giggled and laughed as she raced around the small space they huddled in trying to catch a pink bolt of light that was just out of her reach. She stopped and looked back at the man floating before her and whispered with awe in her small trembling voice, "I love you!" and then quickly covered her mouth with her dainty fingers as if she had revealed a precious secret she knew she should never had told; but just couldn't resist.

Gabriel placed one finger to his lips and the then lower his hand towards the floor for her to sit down, as he himself settled to the floor with his legs crossed.

With her eyes sparkling in the lights surrounding her, the little girl eagerly plopped to her knees and trembled with excitement. She had never seen such wonder. Such power, such beauty, was he real? He had to be from heaven, there was no other idea that she could think of. Her prayers had been answered. She would never be scared; she would never be in danger again. Just wait until those bad guys try and hurt her again. This man would protect her. He would save her. He was her angel. He was her Gabriel. She stretched out her hand and poked his leg with her fingers, he was real! She let out her breath slowly as the man placed one hand on the side of the wall, and directed her attention to something about to unfold. As she watched with eager anticipation, the wall began to glow beneath his hand.

Gabriel closed his eyes and concentrated. He pushed his energy through his hand into the wall beside him. The flame and power laced through the cracks between the blocks and soon the room around them was laced with a brilliant golden light. A Spider web of golden bands crisscrossed through the cracks between the bricks and cement stones. Gabriel took his hand away while the walls continued to glow and burn from his touch. The look in the little girls face filled his heart with a joy he could not put into words. She looked all around her as her hands cupped her cheeks in unbelief. Then she squealed with amazement and happiness bubbling over her cup; as she crawled on her hands and feet toward him and cautiously curled up in his lap. She wiggled as she got comfortable. She stretched her arms wide in a long yawn, and then wrapped them around Gabriel as far as she could. She was safe. The bad guys could come now, and they would lose.

She lowered her head onto his chest as the fire dimmed and faded out, she was so tired. It felt like it had been ages since she had slept last. Her eyes were so heavy. She felt like she couldn't keep them open. She could hear his heart beating slowly and with such strength below his skin. The rhythm of his heart beat washed over her and she felt so safe, and so incredibly tired. With a sign of resignation she allowed her eyes to close as she mumbled in her small voice, "My very own Angel! Thank you mister God! Thank you..."

X-X-X

Noah Bennet and Tracy sat at Molly's bedside as the doctors and Peter rushed to prepare a metal wash bin with towels and ice. Noah held Molly's hand as Tracy held a cool compress to her forehead. She was burning up in a fever. Her small body was drenched in perspiration and her medical gown clung to her frame like she had just stepped out of a swimming pool. The machine beside the bed that registered her pulse was dancing along at a pace that frightened the doctors and gave them more reason for urgency. Nurses moved around them like ghosts in a blur; words said only in whispers, and only when necessary. Noah reached across the bed and placed a comforting hand on Tracy's shoulder. She was a strong woman and her ability to handle this crisis made his love for her grow beyond measure.

Silently he let go of her shoulder and slipped his hand into his pocket, as his department issued phone began to vibrate and raddled its alert. He placed Molly's hand gently on the bed and stepped to the hallway to answer the call. "Noah Bennet!" he spoke with a firm and commanding tone.

"Bennet, this is Beckett. I need your help. I know your little girl is in the hospital, and even though I can barely follow the reasons you stated in your message to me this morning about why she is there; I need you."

"What have you got?" Noah interest was piqued. He knew Sam would not call unless it was big.

"I've got a situation down here that is right up your alley of the wacky and weird. I've got walls of stone that look like they have melted and re-solidified. I've got two bodies burned to almost to ash and bone, and I've got your daughter Claire, sitting here in my squad car in handcuffs."

"Claire is there?" She was supposed to be out searching for Gabriel...

"Sam, Text me your location, I am on my way."

Noah slipped his phone back into his pocket and prepared himself for his wife's pending wrath. After he told her was going to have to leave; her anger would freeze his heart to stone, if he did not handle this correctly. He might soon be in a hospital bed beside Molly if he was not careful. He reached for the door knob, just as the door opened and Tracy flung her arms around him in joy, as tears streamed down her face. "Something happened, Molly is sleeping now. The connection, or link, or whatever it was, is now gone."

Noah looked over Tracy's shoulder into the room at Molly who was now resting peacefully as the medical staff double checked their machines and her vitals. "For, now..." he said to himself as he gave Tracy a reassuring embrace.

X-X-X

The Man squatted in the shadows of the sewer tunnels as his piercing eyes followed the pair of individuals that sulked through the passageway a few dozen yards ahead of him. The smaller one looked to be the leader and the silhouette that crawled on the walls behind them created from a faint light her held in her hand, told him they were not sewer workers. He had been following them for more than few minutes now, trying to remain as quiet as possible. They were heading toward Esmeralda like blood hounds on the trail.

The body suits they wore were gray and black. They had found them again. Once more, he would have to fight, die, or kill to protect the children. He adjusted his weight and prepared to move as the pair approached a cross-way in the tunnels; when the leader stopped. "I have two heat signals just over 50 yards ahead, down this pathway." The woman spoke to the taller man in hushed tones.

With sudden panic the old man lowered himself into the sewer waters. They had a heat signature scanner! With fearful hands, moving fast fueled with the sudden adrenaline pumping through his veins, the man scooped up handfuls of mud and sludge from the bottom of the water way and smeared the black muck over his body and face. It would not completely block his signature, but if they turned this way he would appear to their screen to be maybe a rat, or small rat nest.

"I thought you said the girl was alone?" The male questioned as then turned off their lights and allowed the darkness to surround them.

"Are you sure it's her?" the male asked from the darkness.

"There is only one way to find out." The leader retorted as they disappeared around the corner.

The Man slowly rose to his feet and stepped lightly through the sewer waters careful not to make a splash. Two heat signatures ahead? Who would be with the girl? He pulled back the sleeve of his shirt to check his watch screen. The sensor blip that represented his little girl flashed a steady pulse just about 50 yards ahead. It was her, but who was she with?

X-X-X

"Let me speak to my Dad! I do get one phone call you know." Claire bellowed out at Detective Beckett as he pushed her legs into the squad car and closed the door. Lifting herself up so her mouth was to the small crack at the top of the window, she yelled out, "Detective Beckett! Please, I must know if it was him..."

Sam Beckett paused and turned back to his young captive. "You are interfering with official police business and tampering with evidence."

"But I know those shoes!" Claire called out now pleading. She was desperate, those shoes she had just given to Gabriel the other day. If they were his, then he was in danger. "Please, I need to speak to my Dad!" Claire strained at the handcuffs that bound her wrists behind her back.

"Lady, the last time you were locked up and I was in charge of you, dozens of policemen and women died. Friends of mine were killed, because of you." He locked his eyes on hers, "This time, you are staying put until I straight this all out."

"But that wasn't me!" Claire tried to reason through the squad car window, "That was..." great! She suddenly closed her mouth. If she told him who had really been in his jail cell, he would never let her out the car. She had to think. She couldn't wait for her father to get here all the way from Southside Hospital. She needed to act now. She needed to take matters into her own hands.

Was Gabriel alive? What had happened in the alleyway? She had to find out. Was he injured somewhere and not able to contact her for help? Her heart was aching with worry. Was he one of the bodies of ash they had found? No! There had been a shadow of a human form burned into the wall of the building beside the discovered remains of a pair of dress shoes. She had presented those as a Christmas gift just the other day to Gabriel, she would know them anywhere. They were burned and melted but she could still recognize them.

"If it wasn't you," Beckett demanded, "than who was it?"

Claire closed her mouth and smiled a sweet smile back at the man, "Who was what? Who are we talking about?" she asked.

Sam threw up his hands and stormed away back to the crime scene and his investigation in exasperation, "WOMEN!"

Carefully Claire pulled her waste through the opening of her handcuffed wrists and folded her small legs through past her hips, bringing her hands now in front of her. She let out a slow breath of air, as she concentrated on her right hand, and with her thumb and index finger she gripped the handcuff by the lock and pressed down. The Metal bent and snapped under the pressure of her hand now harder than iron. In less than a minute she was free of the cuffs and with all her strength she pushed down on the widow edge and could feel the automatic window gears give way as the window lowered under her weight until it was low enough that she could climb out.

Claire brushed off her clothing as she stood to her feet now outside of the squad car once more, as an EMT and a few firemen rushed past her.

"Bring the gurney!" The EMT called out, "They found a girl in the sewers!"

Claire made her way behind the crowd as the medical team worked over a small girl laying on the concrete.

"I was minding my own busy work, ya know how it is down there officer." a man was saying just a few feet away from the girl to Detective Beckett. "Me Job today was ta be check'en the service tunnel capoffs."

"The capoffs?" Detective Beckett asked.

"Yep, the end of the tunnels that we cap off with a door so as we can keep expanding some day like in the fut-chua."

"Okay, I get it now, go on please."

"Well I sees, a cap door closed and chained." The man continued, "And I nevers chain a door. Why chains a door when we all got the key."

"So I cuts the chain and roll back the door, and that is when I finds that there kiddie all napping away like a little sleeping beauty."

"Thank you Gregory." Sam stated as he closed his note pad.

"Do you think she will be alright?" the man asked, "She seemed to be put there on a purpose like."

X-X-X

Hiro was beside himself with panic and fear. It had been almost an hour he had been searching for NJ and still he could not find him. He had torn the apartment apart and there was no little boy still hiding, or sleeping. He had banged on every door in their hallway asking if anyone had seen him. He had called his Sister and she had made calls to the local hospitals, Police stations, and shelters but no luck. The boy was gone.

He had rung the bell at the front desk in the lobby, but no one answered. They had to be on break or out for lunch. Where was the boy? He couldn't go back without NJ; Aunt Tracy would kill him! Hiro ran out to the street shouting the boy's name, "NJ!" he called out as loud as he could, "NJ!"

The people of New York mostly ignored him and passed on by him on either side as he rushed through the sea of bodies looking for the child.

Then he saw the car parked across the street from the apartment building. It was a black car with reflective tinted windows. The engine was running, but he could not see who was in the car. He rushed to the car and banged on the window. "Open up in there!" Hiro shouted

"I know you're in there, what did you see?" Hiro called out as he banged on the window more, "Help me!"

Slowly the front window on the side of the car that he was banging on rolled down.

"You have to help me!" Hiro yelled into the dark car. "You were here earlier today, did you see a little boy..." he asked as a large hand grabbed him by the collar and pulled him into the dark car, as the window slowly rolled back up.

X-X-X

Gabriel opened his eyes and let out a slow yawn as he stirred in the darkness of the alcove they huddled in deep in the sewer system tunnels below the City. He must have fallen asleep with the warmth of the little girl in his lap and the stress from having a knife stabbed into his chest and then pulled back out. He needed to get to the surface. He needed to contact Claire. She would know what to do with the little girl, and then he would need to speak with Peter and Noah about the woman that attacked him. Who was she and why attack him? Was she connected to the girl in his lap in some way? After seeing and experiencing what the child could do, he knew she had to be the one that Molly was linked too. She had almost killed Molly the other day. The power that flowed through the little body in his arms was incredible. Imagine what he could do with such power. He would be more powerful than Peter! He would be the living savior of mankind; or the devil incarnate! His heart was racing as he ran his fingers through the child's golden hair.

The blood lust began to boil deep in his soul, as he broke out in a sweat. He could take it here. No one would ever find her body! He could hold his hand over her mouth, and no one would hear her scream. He needed that power! His mouth started to water. He needed to be special! Gabriel slowly moved his hand toward the little girl's mouth. NO! His mind commanded. I am no longer a monster. I have changed. I am good. I have Claire. She would hate me forever if I hurt this girl. But Claire would never need to know. She does not even know there is a girl with such power. She would forget about it over time. I could save the new power until it served a vital purpose. What if I kept it hidden, until I used it to save Claire's life, Or Peter's life?

Gabriel closed his eyes tight as he fought the inner demons that struggled to bust forth. He had changed. He had broken through the wall. He needed help! He was not strong enough to be good. He was weak. Suddenly his ears heard a sound and his entire body tensed in preparation of attack. What was that? Was it a foot step far off in the distance; or a rat jumping into the water to swim? Could it be a leg brushing across floating debris? Or was it nothing at all? Could his ears be just playing tricks after being in the dark tunnels for too long? He opened his eyes cautiously and stared into the piercing blue eyes of a masked face and a hand reaching out of the darkness toward the little child in his lap. The faint light glinted off the bracelet on the attacker's wrist, and flashed into his mind the symbol he recognized from above. She was here!

Gabriel bristled in fury as the hand reached out to the golden hair of Esmeralda. He could not use his powers. Just like before, he was defenseless. His body remembered the pain from above where this woman had killed him with incredible ease. She was a trained killer. She was going to kill him again if he let her. Not this time! Gabriel thought to himself as with lightning speed he grabbed the wrist of the attacker and with all his strength pulled. The Attacker lost her balance and crashed into the cement wall behind him, as Gabriel rolled to his feet holding the sleeping child in one arm.

From out of the darkness another shadow moved and the flash of a gun muzzle preceded the dance of bullets across the walls ricocheting in all directions. Gabriel turned and dropped to the ground as the bullets ripped at his back and legs. "Stop shooting you fool!" the female attacker shouted, "take them alive this time. We need the girl!" The woman swung her foot at Gabriel's exposed ribcage and he could feel something deep inside crack; as the blow rolled him over in the darkness on top of the sleeping child. She was sleeping through this still? Another foot hit him deep in his side, as Gabriel wrapped his arm around the ankle and twisted. The attacker dropped to her knees in pain as he drew back his fist and with all he had swung in a round house blow and connected just at the point of her jaw. The impact sounded like a freight train hitting a brick wall, as the attacker slumped to the ground out cold.

Suddenly hands grabbed at the girl and pulled. "No!" Gabriel shouted as he pulled back on the limp form of the impossibly sleeping girl. He placed a foot on the attacker's stomach and pushed with everything he had left. The man let go and fell backward into the sewer waters with a splash, just as the woman stirred and stumbled back to her feet. She drew a long knife from a scabbard between her shoulder blades. "All right mister, you want to play? We are taking the girl, whether you live or die." she spat out through bloody teeth.

Gabriel prepared to defend when an Old man ran around the corner and opened fire. Bullets bounced off the walls as the two attackers dove for cover. Gabriel looked toward the Old man as he shouted at him, "Save my baby girl! Now Run!" as he pulled out of his jacket pocket an explosive device that began clicking down with green numbers 5 seconds.

Gabriel swung his fist once more at the female attacker and felt her nose crush under his blow, and then he wrapped his arms around the small sleeping girl, placing one hand over her mouth and nose; and then dove off the platform and into the sewer waters slipping over a spillway into the darkness beyond.

X-X-X

Sam Beckett slapped the back of the emergency vehicle as it pulled away from him and out of the alleyway. The policemen stationed at the end of the alley near the street moved the barriers temporarily out of the way to allow the vehicle to pass. As soon as it pulled out onto the main street the driver hit the sirens and emergency lights and raced toward Southside General Hospital. Where was Noah? How long did it take the man to get here? He needed him here. Things were getting creepier by the minute.

"Please Detective; can I look at the shoes?" Claire asked as Sam turned around and found the girl standing before him.

"Well you're a regular Houdini," Sam said as he looked back at his squad car and saw the window now down. "Where are my cuffs?" he asked as he looked back at the girl. "Here.." Claire said as she handed him the destroyed handcuffs, "Sorry."

"These were brand new, now I am going to have to pay for them out of my next paycheck." Sam blurted out as the ground began to rumble, and shake. Sam braced himself with one hand against the alley wall for balance as the ground heaved and pitched. The man-hole cover of the sewer blew off in a blast of flame and murky water, as the ground under their feet cracked and sagged. The blast echoed in their ears as the walls about them groaned and leaned.

Claire, looked toward the sky as the wall beside her crumbled and the brick facade let go and fell, raining brick and rock over them like hail stones. She rushed toward Detective Beckett and like a football star and tackled him around the waist sending them to the ground. The two slid under a parked fire truck as all went dark.

* * *

**~ Heroes - Rise of the Phoenix ~**

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